Love of Grace
by duchessofbooks
Summary: Pitch is given another chance and he must prove that he can be a good guardian. He is assigned to watch over a young English girl named Grace. The two become friends and as the years pass, one thing leads to another. Pitch/OC romance. Rated T for a death scene and some violence.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: Rise of the Guardians' characters belong to Dreamworks Animation. Original characters belong to me._

Chapter 1

Darkness had surrounded Pitch, it had enveloped him ever since that one cold morning. Now, his own fear had been eating away at him and he blamed it all on the Guardians, but for some reason, he blamed himself.

"How did I get into this mess?" he asked himself and one of the night mares seemed to hear him.

"All I ever wanted was to be believed in, but why must I be hated?" Pitch asked the black sand horse.

Just then, he felt a force pulling him away from the blackness and in one minute, he was out of his fears and entered into the light.

Pitch looked around, he was in some kind of court-room setting; the walls and tables were marble white and in the seats were the other Guardians, including North, Jack Frost, Bunnymund, the Sand Man, and Tooth.

"Pitch Black," a mighty voice spoke and the boogeyman knew that voice, it was of the Man in the Moon.

Then, a figure appeared; he was white as marble, he wore majestic white robes and a shiny crown rested atop his head. The Man in the Moon had a long, white beard and hair, but he had muscles. He looked like a god from Greek mythology.

Pitch stood forward and bowed his head to his master. "You have been brought here to have your fate decided," the Man in the Moon said.

"Why don't we erase him out of existence?" Jack Frost asked, but everyone looked at him.

"That is not an option, he needs to learn about his mistakes," North replied in his thick, Russian accent.

"I have," Pitch said to them. "I just wanted to be believed in as much as you are, but the children hate me and fear me. I honestly wish that some of them would believe and admire me."

The Man in the Moon rubbed his chin, "So, you are saying you wished to be loved?" he asked.

Pitch gave a sigh and answers, "Yes."

The other Guardians looked at one another; they were the ones who were loved the most and Pitch was the feared one.

"Pitch Black," the Guardians' master said to the boogeyman. "I'll give you this one chance to prove yourself that you can be loved. However, you need to change your ways. I have decided that you can make bad dreams to children who deserve it."

"But, how does that make me be loved?' Pitch asked.

"That I am getting to; I have decided to assign you to watch over a young girl living in the English countryside. She believes that you do exist, but you have good intentions," the Man in the Moon said, "If you show how good you are to her, you will be forgiven and I'll assign you to be Guardian of, not just bad dreams and fear, but of the holiday, Halloween."

The other Guardians were surprised, so was Pitch and he stared at his master.

"What is this girl's name?" he asked.

"Grace, Grace Dawson. She has a gift in art and you will be surprised at her work," the Man in the Moon replied. "Before I forget, I have something for you."

The god pointed to the ground and swirling mist appeared. It whirled around and then, it desperate, revealing a beautiful, black Pegasus with fiery brown eyes and strong muscles.

"This is Erebos, he will watch your ever move and take you from place to place," the Man in the Moon said.

Pitch touched the majestic creature's neck, it was hard as stone and the fur was soft, but the black coat shined like a gem.

"You have one year to prove yourself, this court of Guardians will re-commence one year from today. Dismissed," the Man of the Moon said and everyone left the court room.

Erebos nudged at Pitch, as if ordering him to move and the boogeyman obeyed. Then, the Pegasus whinnied and moved one of his wings, opening it up to reveal an English-style, leather saddle.

"You want me to get on?" Pitch asked and Erebos neighed.

The boogeyman did get on the saddle and then, Erebos flapped his wings and he was airborne and he ascended away from the marble courtroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Pitch found himself flying over a vast, open ocean. It was dark, but the moon's glow glimmered upon the water, making it shine like a crystal.

Erebos lowered himself towards the water and Pitch looked down at his reflection. Then, the black Pegasus flew upward, barely missing the rocky cliffs. The scenery changed to a forest of pines and some old farmland.

Finally, Erebos began to circle around an old brick house that was surrounded by vast, open acres of farmland. A chimney was releasing white smoke and a light was on in one of the upper room windows.

The black Pegasus flew up to the window and Pitch looked into it. The room had numerous canvases and some papers with pencil drawings. Some were so detailed that Pitch had never seen anything done like this before, not even when he was mortal.

Then, someone came into the room and Pitch was surprised to see the creator of the drawings. A young girl, perhaps ten or maybe eleven years of age, with curly brown and red hair and dazzling green-hazel eyes entered in. She looked at one drawing of a landscape of a farm and she seemed to be admiring it.

"Grace!" a woman's voice called and the girl left the room. "Are you in bed, dear?" the woman asked.

"Just about to, mummy," the girl replied back.

"This is Grace?" Pitch asked Erebos and the black Pegasus snickered.

The two looked into the next room, where the girl, Grace had gone into the bed.

A woman, the girl's mother, perhaps, entered in. "Mummy, can you tell me that story?" Grace asked.

"Again?" the mother asked and Grace nodded.

Pitch decided to listen in.

"Somewhere in this world, a child is suffering from nightmares, only because he deserved it," the woman said and Pitch was surprised to hear this.

"What did the child do to deserve these nightmares?" Grace asked and Pitch was curious himself.

"The child had done something bad and the boogeyman punished him for being bad," Grace's mother answered.

"But the boogeyman is good is he?" the girl asked.

"I believe he is and if you believe he is good, then he'll leave you alone with your good dreams," the girl's mother replied.

"But he does protect children from bad dreams, does he?" Grace asked, again.

"Yes, sometimes the bad dreams will creep upon you when you sleep, but the boogeyman will scare them away," Grace's mother said.

"I know he is good and maybe, he is not so frightening," the girl replied.

Pitch was surprised to hear about this notion and perhaps, he felt a sense of support from this child. Could she really believe that he was good in some way?

"She's an artist and a believer in me," Pitch said to Erebos. The Pegasus neighed and the nightmare king patted his neck.

The light was turned off in the girl's room and Pitch entered in the room next door.

He looked at the pencil drawings; they were beautiful and so detailed that he found it hard to believe that this child was an artist.

"Alright old friend, I'll watch this girl for a year and I'll prove that I can be good," the Shadow Man said and he stared up at the moon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

By morning, Grace had risen from her bed and eaten her breakfast. She then went up to her work station and took a sketchbook and some charcoal pencils.

Pitch watched her from the shadows and followed her outside, with Erebos behind Pitch.

"Grace, don't go too far!" a man called out to the girl.

"I won't daddy!" Grace replied back to her father and she walked towards the wooded area.

Watching her, Pitch remained out of sight, but stayed close by and Grace stopped by the stream.

She sat down on a flat rock and began to sketch the small waterfall and the rocks surrounding it.

Pitch looked over her shoulder and was surprised of how Grace used her fingers to trace the charcoal for the landscape.

"Amazing," Pitch said and then, Grace stopped.

She turned around quick and stared up at the boogeyman. Pitch stared back in surprise, she was looking right at him.

He took a few steps backward, his back hitting Erebos. "Have you been watching me?" Grace asked.

Without another word, Pitch grabbed a handful of Erebos' mane and pulled himself on the Pegasus' back and Erebos went into a gallop.

"Wait!" Grace shouted after them, but they were gone. She ran around the woods looking for the mysterious stranger, but no sight of him.

"Who was that?" Grace asked herself and she shut her eyes. She had a good photographic memory; whoever she saw was tall with dark hair and skin, but his eyes were like bright moons being eclipsed.

Grace immediately began to draw the handsome stranger from her memory.

Meanwhile, Pitch and Erebos were far away from Grace, but the nightmare king regretted that moment of running away from her.

"I blew it, Erebos, I'm an idiot!" he said to the Pegasus, who snickered at the boogeyman.

"It's not funny!" Pitch replied and Erebos flapped his wings.

Just then, a cold wind blew through the trees and Pitch knew what the meant. He looked around and he heard the mischievous chuckle of Jack Frost.

"What's the matter? Got scared of a girl?" the winter spirit asked as he dangled from his legs on a tree branch.

"Shut up," Pitch replied and Jack floated down to the ground, it froze at his touch.

"What are you doing here?" Pitch asked.

"The boss wanted me to check on you on your first day of community service," Jack answered and the ground surrounding him frosted.

"It's not community service," the Shadow Man said.

"You know, I would've turned you into a block of ice if I had the chance," the winter spirit replied and his staff touched Pitch's chest, but he moved it away.

"Good, then it would've saved you and your friends a lot of trouble," the Shadow Man said.

"Oh c'mon, you really don't mean that?" Jack asked.

"No, I suppose not," Pitch answered.

"This is only the beginning, you have one year, and then, you'll be king of Halloween," Jack said and floated up to a tree. "Just to warn you, the boss might send me or one of the other Guardians to check up on you from time to time. See ya," he added and a strong wind picked him up and he flew away.

Pitch felt an urge of irritation toward the mischievous spirit of winter, but he decided to ignore it and headed back to where he left Grace.

He hid behind a tree when he saw the girl, still sketching in her book, but he couldn't see what she was drawing.

Then, Grace got up and left the woods, heading back to her house.

"Mummy! Daddy!" she called out to her parents.

"What's the matter?" her father asked.

"I think I saw the boogeyman," Grace answered and her parents looked at one another.

"He didn't hurt you did he?" her father asked, again and he reached for an umbrella.

"No, he ran off," Grace replied and her father placed the umbrella back down.

"Are you sure it was the boogeyman, because I thought he only comes out at night," Grace's mother asked her daughter.

"I'm sure it was him, because he had a winged horse with him," the girl replied and both parents gave a sigh of relief.

"Will I see him, again?" Grace asked.

"I'm sure you will, but you have to be careful, sometimes he can't be trusted," the girl's mother warned her.

"I thought you said he was good," Grace said.

"Yes I did, but you just have to keep your wits up," the woman replied.

Grace was then greeted by her Ragdoll cat, Canaletto, named after the famous Italian landscape artist, Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto. The four of them went inside and Grace went up to her work station with Canaletto in pursuit.

Grace showed the cat her sketch of the mysterious stranger and he gave a low growl. "I know, you hate strangers, but if he does come back, you be nice," she said and Canaletto rubbed his cheek against her face.

Grace looked at the sketches of what she did, but admired the one of the shadowy man.

Pitch quietly crept in like a spider and looked down from the ceiling. He saw the sketch of him and he was astonished by how Grace drew him; the sketch was like a reflection of him.

Without saying a word, Pitch went out of the room using the window and met with Erebos.

"I'll make myself known to her tonight and we'll see what happens from there," Pitch said to the Pegasus and Erebos nodded in agreement.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Evening came and the sun was starting to set. Grace and her parents sat out on the stoop, enjoying some vanilla ice cream and listening to the crocking frogs and toads.

Pitch walked along the roof of the house, looking down at them. Erebos snickered and Pitch scratched behind the Pegasus' ear, "Not yet," he reminded Erebos.

"Mummy, do I have to go to that school?" he heard Grace asked her mother.

"You don't have to, but your daddy and I thought that maybe it will be good for you," Grace's mother said.

"The Blackpool Secondary School of Art* is one of the top art schools in Lancashire. After you finish there, you could be eligible for an art scholarship to a college in London. You'll be the next Leonardo da Vinci," Grace's father explained to his daughter.

Pitch was stunned when he heard this; this girl was an art genius or will be when she enters this school.

"Give it a try and if things don't go so well in the first year, we can talk about sending you back to your other school," Grace's mother replied and the family went inside.

A while later, Grace went to bed with Canaletto and Pitch entered in. He stared down at the sleeping girl and cat and he spotted the sketchbook. Out of curiosity, Pitch lifted the cover and looked at a charcoal drawing of a woman, Grace's mother doing dishes in the sink.

'MEOW!' the cat said when he saw the boogeyman.

"Easy boy, I'm not going to hurt you," Pitch replied, but Canaletto growled and hissed at him.

"Canny, what are you…?" Grace stopped talking when she looked at Pitch and gasped and lifted the blanket up to her chin. The cat's claws reached out to Pitch, but the nightmare king leapt back and hit his head on the wall shelf. He reacted in pain and rubbed his head.

"You're the boogeyman, aren't you?" Grace asked.

Pitch gave a bow and answers, "I am, but you can call me Pitch, short for Pitch Black."

Canaletto stilled hissed at the shadowy man, but Grace rubbed the cat's back and it seemed to calm him.

"You have to forgive Canaletto, he hates strangers," the girl said and asks, "Why are you here? Did I do something wrong and I deserve to be plagued by nightmares?"

Pitch gave a chuckle, "No, no, no, I'm here to tell you that I am your guardian and I will be watching you and protect you from bad dreams," he said.

"And will you punish those who deserve nightmares?" the girl asked and he nods.

"I have to say, from what I saw in your workshop, you are quite the artist," Pitch said and Grace's face lit up.

"Oh, wait a minute, I drew you earlier today," she replied and showed him the sketch of him and Erebos.

Pitch looked it over and he was stunned of how detailed she drew him from the hair, the eyes, and even his pose. When he examined the Erebos in the sketch, Pitch was literally surprised of how Grace drew the Pegasus' wings, muscles, and hooves.

"How did you do this? I ran away from you, which I should apologize," Pitch said.

"I have a photographic memory. It was something I was born with and whenever I see something, it stays inside my head until I draw it and then it goes away. That's how I became an artist and I guess you can say all of the art schools in England want me, but I picked the Blackpool Secondary School of Art because it is closer," Grace explained, while Pitch looked at the other sketches.

"Grace, this is extraordinary," he said, "You do have a gift."

"Wait, how do you know my name?" she asked.

"I did say I have been watching you and my master told me your name," Pitch answered.

"Who is your master?" she asked, again.

He led her to the window and pointed at the moon. "Everyone calls him the Man in the Moon, but he is the master of me and the other Guardians," he explained.

"The other Guardians? You mean, like Santa Clause?" Grace asked and he nods.

"I knew it! He is real!" she exclaimed and Pitch shushed her.

"And the Tooth Fairy?" she asked in a whisper.

"And the Sand Man, the Easter Bunny, Cupid, the Leprechaun, and Jack Frost," Pitch replied.

"Will I get to meet them?" she asked.

"Maybe someday," Pitch replied and looks out the window to see Erebos and an idea pops into his head.

"Do you want to go for a ride? On Erebos?" he asked.

"Who is Erebos?" Grace replied and he points to the Black Pegasus and she gasps.

"Oh yes, yes I would love to!" she exclaimed, but she catches herself and shuts her mouth.

"You have to be very quiet when we leave this room," Pitch said and she nodded.

The two quietly crept out of the house and outside where Erebos was waiting, rather impatiently.  
Grace patted the Pegasus' soft black coat and he nudged his head at her.

Pitch hoisted Grace up onto the saddle and then he got on. "You're not afraid of heights are you?" he asked.

"No," the girl replied.

"Hold on to him," Pitch warned and he gave a little kick. Erebos went into a trot and then a gallop, his wings flapped out and then, he flew upward.

Erebos went high up in the sky, passing through some clouds and was above them.

Then, the clouds disappeared and Grace spotted the illuminating lights of a town below them. Erebos went down and he circled around the buildings of the town and then, he flew down to the streets.

"Can they see us?!" Grace called out to Pitch, pointing to the people.

"No, I don't think so," he replied as the Pegasus jumped over a few cars, but no one seemed to notice.

Erebos flew upward, again, but he went higher than before, almost touching the moon.

"Erebos, I think that's enough!" Pitch called to the Pegasus and he gave a neigh.

They went back to Grace's house, but along the way, the black Pegasus flew a little lower, giving Grace and Pitch a good view of the countryside.

Erebos landed on the lawn and trotted up to the house. He stopped and Pitch got off to help Grace get down.

The girl's hair had been tangled by the wind, making it look like a bird's nest.

"That was amazing!" Grace exclaimed, but she caught herself, again and covered her mouth.

"Now Grace," Pitch said, coming down to her level, "There are some children in this world who believe I am evil."

"But you're not," Grace replied.

"That's what I want to hear. If you tell some of your classmates that I am good, maybe they will believe I am. However, if they don't and tease you, I'll punish them with bad dreams," Pitch explained. "Now, I believe it is passed your bedtime."

Grace gave a groan, "But I had so much fun," she said, "I am wide awake."

"You won't be for long, now be a good girl and go to sleep," Pitch ordered her.

Grace was about to open the front door, but she turns to face the Shadow Man. "Will I ever see you and Erebos, again?" she asked.

"As I said, I will be watching over you," he reminded her and bid her goodnight and she went on inside.

Pitch looked at the black Pegasus, "I never thought I would be this soft," he said and Erebos shook his head and snickered.

"Alright, alright, maybe I did thought of it, but I hope I don't take this friendship with her a little too far," Pitch added and they went away from the house and into the darkness.

()()()()()()()

*This school is actually fictitious.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

By the next morning, Grace did her morning ritual and then headed out to the woods, carrying her sketchbook with her cat following behind.

"Hello? Pitch, are you here?" she called out.

"I am," he said from behind and Grace jumped in surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Liar, you enjoy giving children a scare," she replied.

"True, but only to the bad ones," Pitch said and noticed Canaletto, brushing up against his leg.

"How odd, Canny never warms up to strangers that quickly," Grace said as Pitch petted the Ragdoll cat.

The boogeyman then noticed Grace's sketchbook. "How often do you come to these woods to draw?" he asked.

"I don't just come here, I go anywhere, see," Grace said and featured a drawing of a farmhouse. "For today, I want to sketch Erebos, if he is fine by that," she added.

The Pegasus lifted his head when he heard his name and gave a loud neigh.

"I take that as a yes," Grace said and Pitch nods in agreement.

Then, Erebos got down on his knees and started to roll in the dirt. "Erebos!" Pitch exclaimed, he was embarrassed by what the Pegasus was doing.

"No, wait, let him do it," Grace said and watched carefully. When Erebos was done, he got up from the ground and shook his body and flapped his wings.

Grace shut her eyes and then opened them, again and began to draw.

Pitch watched the girl's hands as she ever so elegantly drew the Pegasus when he was rolling in the dirt.

When she was finished, Grace showed the piece to Pitch. He was quite speechless of how detailed the Pegasus was, including his head and legs.

"Now I want to draw your hands," Grace said and Pitch looks at her in surprise.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Your hands, I like to draw them," Grace repeated and she took them in hers. "Your hands are so cold," she added.

"I know," Pitch said, but didn't give an explanation.

Grace positioned the boogeyman's hands the way she wanted them to be. "Now stay still, don't move them," she commanded and began to draw.

The way she posed Pitch's hands made them look like he was cradling one with the other. He stayed still for a long time, but he was patient and waited for Grace to finish.

A few minutes passed and she was done, Grace showed her finished work. "I have to say Grace, you surprise me every time," Pitch said, astonished by Grace's piece of his hands.

"Grace!" someone shouted from the house.

"That's my mum, I have to go," the girl said and packed up to leave.

"Grace, can I ask you something?" Pitch asked and she looks at him, "I would like for you to do another sketch of me."

"Maybe someday, but I have to go," Grace replied and left him.

Erebos nudges his muzzle at Pitch and the nightmare king scratches behind the Pegasus' ear.

"I wonder what my old friend is thinking, if he saw this," he said and Erebos shakes his head.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The summer holiday came and went for Grace. Today was the first day at her new school in Blackpool. She had joined other students who had artistic thoughts and it was easy for her to join in with the others.

The school's uniform contain a white blouse, a gray sweater vest with green linen and a gray skirt for the girls. The boys also wore the sweater vests with a white undershirt and gray pants.

Pitch decided to stay out of the way as much as possible for Grace and for the other students.

He would peek into the other classrooms to see what the other children were doing. Some students did oil paints or watercolor and others did clay sculpturing, but he had to admit, they were not his favorite kinds of art.

He then found Grace's class, where she and the other students were sketching a person, maybe their teacher sitting sideways on a stool.

"10 minutes everyone," the teacher said to the class.

Pitch was curious of what Grace was drawing and decided to look down on her from the ceiling. He smiled upon seeing the sketch; Grace had drawn the teacher in amazing detail on her paper.

A little later, the teacher got up and collected the sketches from the other students, but she stopped and looked at Grace's drawing.

"Look at this, children," the teacher said to the class and she showed Grace's sketch to the students. They stood up from their desks and grew wide eyed at the drawing.

"Now this is how you're supposed to draw," the teacher added and pinned Grace's piece on the bulletin board.

The students groaned and Pitch could sense that they were jealous of Grace and he hoped that they wouldn't get too envious of her.

The class ended and the students were dismissed for lunch.

"Excuse me," a girl just about Grace's age came up to her. "What's your name?"

"I'm Grace," she answered.

"I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Lizzy," the girl replied, "Do you want to eat your lunch with me?" she asked.

"Yes, I like that," Grace answered and they headed outside with their lunch packs.

The two girls sat under the shade of an ash tree, while Pitch watched them from the shadows.

Lizzy had blonde-brown hair tied in two pigtails, her eyes were the color of morning gray mist, and her peach-colored hands were covered in charcoal.

"I really liked your drawing of Mrs. Fredericks," Lizzy said to Grace.

"Thank you, I really like to draw, I guess you can say it's a gift," she replied.

"If Megan Honeycutt saw it, she'd be very jealous of you. In fact, she's a bully and she wants everything to go her way, especially being the best," Lizzy warned and Pitch listened in.

"Does she do charcoal?" Grace asked and Lizzy nods. "You said that Honeycutt is her last name; why does that sound familiar?" Grace asked, again.

"Her father was senior editor of an art magazine in London; I forgot what the name was. He moved here to Blackpool after becoming senior editor to the Blackpool Still Life art magazine and that's why Megan is here," Lizzy explained. "Just be careful when you see her," she warned.

"What does she look like?" Grace asked and Pitch also wanted to know.

Lizzy looked around and her eyes grew wide, "There," she whispered to Grace, pointing to a girl a few feet away. The girl, Megan had dark brown hair, but it was a mess as if she never combed it and her eyes were a dark shade of brown.

Megan was teasing a boy who was doing a watercolor painting of the grounds.

"C'mon, paint me in!" Megan demanded and jumped in and out of the boy's view.

"Please leave me alone," the boy said, but Megan continued to tease him and then started to poke her fingers on his canvas. "Stop that!" he cried as Megan left colored finger points on the canvas.

"Someone's got to stop her," Grace said and got up.

"Don't do it!" Lizzy exclaimed, but Grace was already walking up to the bully. Pitch followed behind and he prayed that this Megan would not tease Grace so much.

"You better stop that!" Grace ordered Megan, who stopped and turned her attention to Grace.

"Why should I stop? This boy won't paint me on his canvas," the bully replied.

"He does not want to, why can't you understand that? You don't know him and he does not know you," Grace said.

"You must be new this year. Just to let you know, everyone knows me here and I get to do whatever I want," Megan replied, but Grace grew angry.

"Just because your father is rich, that does not make you a ruler over everyone here," she said and Megan gave a look of shock.

"Alright, I'm sorry," the bully replied and leaves.

Grace walks up to the boy with the ruined painting. "That doesn't look too bad," she said when she looked at the canvas and the boy nods.

Suddenly, someone gave a hard push at Grace from behind and she toppled over the boy and they crashed to the ground, along with the easel that held up the painting.

Grace looked up to see Megan towering over her and she was laughing. Pitch grew angry at this girl; he did not like people, especially children when they take advantage of others.

"What is going on here?" a teacher asked and walked over to the children.

Megan then turned around and faced the teacher with a sad face. "This girl and I were playing, but she got a little rough and she ran into this boy," she said.

"That is a lie! She pushed me!" Grace replied and pointed a finger at Megan.

"You two," the teacher said to Lizzy and the boy, "What did you see?"

Megan gave a look at the two children, as if she was threatening them.

"I didn't see them until she tumbled into me," the boy said and Grace was shocked.

"I actually didn't see anything," Lizzy replied.

"So that's it?" Pitch asked, but the children didn't hear him, "You're just going to let the bully win?"

"Well, since no one saw anything, I'm not going to report it to the headmistress, but I am giving both of you a warning," the teacher said and walks away.

Megan gave a grin and she also walked away from Grace.

"Why did you lie?" Grace asked the boy and Lizzy.

"If we told the truth, Megan would tease us forever," Lizzy replied and the boy nods.

Pitch was very irritated by this; if he was mortal and witnessed this, he would've slapped Megan and threaten to expel her, but he couldn't.

He then noticed Grace leaving the boy and Lizzy, an angry look was on her face.

She walked to a lonely spot by another ash tree and sat under it and Pitch joined her.

"She didn't hurt you did she?" he asked Grace and then noticed the tears in her eyes.

"I wanted her to stop, but I didn't expect her to do that," she replied and hugged her knees to her chest.

Pitch placed his arms around her, but did not hug her and used a thumb to brush away her tears. "Dry your eyes, if one saw you as a weak being, they'll hurt you even more," he said and leans into her ear, "Don't worry, I'll pay Megan a little visit tonight."

"You mean you're going to haunt her with nightmares?" Grace asked and Pitch nods. "I hope she has bad dreams all night long," she said.

"And she will and perhaps she won't sleep a wink," the Shadow Man replied, just as the bell rang.

"And don't worry, this is your first day and so far, you've won the favor of one teacher. Keep it up and maybe you'll be the new favorite here," Pitch added and Grace gives a smile. "Now that is what I wanted to see. No more frowns today, you promise me?" he asked and she nods.

Grace runs back inside to go to her afternoon class, while Pitch stayed under the shade of the ash tree.

Erebos joins him and nudges at the Shadow Man's head. "How am I doing so far?" Pitch asked the Pegasus.

"You really handled that like a pro," a voice said from somewhere.

Pitch looked up to see Jack Frost, walking on a tree branch, it frosted from his touch.

"Well, well, it's the misfit," Pitch said to Erebos.

"Ha, ha, ha," Jack replied, sarcastically.

Just then, Pitch heard a buzzing sound and he knew what that was.

"Hello there, Lady Tooth," the Shadow Man said to the tooth fairy.

The hummingbird woman took a peek inside one window of the school and admired the works of the young children.

"Such artistic geniuses these children are," Tooth said, "And I understand that Miss Grace is quite the artist?"

"You need to see her work," Pitch replied. Tooth's feathers ruffled; she still had not forgiven the Shadow Man for kidnapping her assistants and stealing the children's teeth.

"You're lucky to have one child believe in you," she said and Pitch felt offended by this.

"One is not enough," he replied.

"Now, now, let's not do anything we might regret," Jack cut in. Tooth decided to leave, but she says to the boogeyman, "My assistants and I will never forgive you." With a sniff, Tooth flew away.

"Don't mind her; someday she will see Grace and her work. As a matter of fact, I have not seen them," Jack said as a cold wind blew in.

"If you stay any longer, winter will be here much too early," Pitch replied.

"Alright, I'm going," the winter spirit said and he flew away with the wind.

Erebos gave a snicker at Pitch. "I suppose you're right. I should be open to the other Guardians," he said to the black Pegasus and rubbed one of the long ears with his fingers.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The school day ended and the children went home. Grace's mother picked her up and asks, "How was your first day?"

"Good, actually it got awful a little later," the girl answered.

"Oh, what happened?" her mother asked, again.

"This girl was teasing me and some others. I heard that she desires in being the best," Grace replied.

"Oh, don't worry, it was your first day, just give it some more time," her mother said and they drove on home.

Dusk fell and Pitch rode on Erebos to find the Sand Man. Just then, a flock of golden sand birds flew passed them, leaving behind a trail of gold dust.

Erebos followed the stream and it led to a gold cloud, where Sandy was performing his nighttime ritual.

"Hello?" Pitch said and Sandy jumped when he saw the boogeyman. The yellow-colored spirit did not say a word, but above his head, some sand formed an exclamation point.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Pitch said, but Sandy shook his head, as if to say Pitch was lying.

"Still not talking are you?" the Shadow Man asked and above Sandy's head, a question mark formed.

"I'm here to ask you a favor," Pitch said, but the Sand Man shook his head roughly. "I know, you will not forgive me for what I did, but I am asking you as a friend," Pitch added.

Sandy still did not speak and looks at Pitch and listened.

"There is a girl named Megan Honeycutt," Pitch said and explained about the incident he witnessed earlier. Sandy folded his arms and an angry look formed on his face.

"So, can I ask you to not give her good dreams tonight?" the nightmare king asked and Sandy nods. "Oh, one more thing; the girl I am looking after, Grace Dawson? Give her a good dream that will cheer her up," Pitch adds and Sandy nods, again.

"Thank you," Pitch replied and Erebos flies away from the Sand Man.

The black Pegasus flies above the big town of Blackpool, as if looking for something.

"Do you know where Megan lives?" Pitch asked and Erebos neighs.

They flew over the Blackpool tower and the beach piers. Colored lights had illuminated the darkness and Pitch felt a sense of serenity for some reason.

Then, Erebos began to circle around a white colored house with red shutters. The Pegasus landed in the driveway and Pitch peers into a window.

"I don't want to go to bed!" Megan shouted at her mother.

"Megan, that's enough! Go to sleep!" the woman ordered.

"What if the boogeyman comes?" Megan asked, sounding terrified.

"Oh for heavens sake, there's no such thing as the boogeyman. Now go to sleep," her mother said, shutting off the light and closes the door.

The girl's room had charcoal drawings pinned up on the walls, but Pitch found them to be ugly. Some had smear marks and others were not as detailed as Grace's drawings.

Megan slumped on the bed and shut her eyes, giving Pitch the cue to enter in.

He looked down at the sleeping girl and a grin forms on his lips. "You've been a bad girl, Megan, and you deserve to be punished," he said and black sand began to form in his hands.

The sand then began to dance around the little girl's head and Megan started to toss and turn. She was having a nightmare.

The black sand horse circles around its master. "I've missed you," Pitch said and the horse gave a neigh.

"Be sure to give this girl the worst of the bad," he added and the black sand horse trotted above the girl's head.

Pitch watched in amusement as Megan started to whimper. Then, her eyes flutter open and she stared up at the boogeyman.

"Boo," Pitch said in a creepy voice. Megan gave an ear-piercing scream, one that made Pitch's ears go numb and he quickly left the room.

"Megan! What is it?!" both her parents exclaimed when they came in.

"The boogeyman! He was here! I saw him!" the girl cried out, but her parents gave looks of irritation and Pitch chuckled.

The nightmare circled around its master, leaving a trail of black sand. "Very good, keep it up until morning," he ordered the creature and it returns back inside the girl's room.

"Cry of bloody murder," Pitch said to Erebos, rubbing his ringing ears. "She almost made my ears go deaf," he added and the Black Pegasus whinnied.

Inside Megan's room, the girl begged to her parents to let her stay up all night. "You have school tomorrow," her father, Mr. Honeycutt said.

"I don't want to go to that school anymore! It's boring!" Megan fussed.

"Your father paid a lot of money for you to go to that school. Now show some respect to him," her mother replied, but Megan gave a huff.

"Do you want to be punished? We'll take away your computer games and throw away your drawings," Mrs. Honeycutt said to her daughter.

"No, no, no! I'll be good!" Megan begged and dropped back down on the bed.

"Good, now go to sleep," Mr. Honeycutt replied and he and his wife left their daughter's room.

"It seems that Mr. Honeycutt likes to spoil his daughter," Pitch said to Erebos.

The nightmare king looked in through the window. The nightmare danced around the girl's head and Megan tossed and turned in her sleep.

"That'll make her stay up all night," Pitch said and decided to leave.

He got on Erebos and they flew back to Grace's house on the outskirts of town. The countryside was quieter than the city and Pitch liked this better.

When they got back to the Dawson house, Pitch took a peek inside Grace's room. The girl was asleep, but something was not right as she whimpered in her sleep.

Pitch went in the room and saw a cloud of black sand hovering over Grace. "No, no, no!" he shouted and took the black sand into his hands.

"You are a bad nightmare!" he said to the creature and it dissolved into smoke.

Then, golden light illuminated the room and a gold cloud hovered over Grace. The cloud formed into a Pegasus and someone was riding on it. The creature and its rider flew above Grace's head and Pitch watched as the girl formed a smile on her face.

"That's what I wanted to see," he said to the sleeping girl. He leaves in order to find more bad children and haunt them with bad dreams and protect the good ones from the nightmares.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Blackpool awoke to a glorious dawn; the sun's rays were bright and golden, lighting up the sky.

Grace rose from her bed, her hair was a tangled mess, and she heard a chuckle.

"You can come out, I'm not afraid of you," she said to Pitch and he appeared.

"How can you handle all that hair?" he asked, taking a handful in his hand.

"I brush it every day," Grace answered, but Pitch wasn't sure if it was true.

"How did you sleep last night?" he asked, again.

"Like a baby. I had the most wonderful dream," she replied, taking a hair brush and started working on her long red and brown locks.

"What was the dream?" Pitch asked.

"I was with you and Erebos and he took us to meet the other Guardians. I saw Santa Clause! Oh, I can't wait for Christmas!" Grace exclaimed, "But I am excited for Halloween!"

Halloween, Pitch had forgotten about his master's word of making Pitch the Guardian of that holiday.

Something else came to his mind; he would like for Grace to meet the other Guardians and maybe, just maybe, Christmas would be a good time for her to meet them.

"Grace, I'm going somewhere today, but I should be back by this afternoon," Pitch said, "Do you think you can stay out of trouble for that long?"

"If Megan does not cause trouble than I should be all right," Grace answered.

Pitch left the house and met up with Erebos. "Can you take me to the North Pole?" the Shadow Man asked and the Pegasus nodded.

Pitch got up on Erebos' back and he went into a gallop and flew up into the sky. The black Pegasus flew over the countryside and then entered Scotland. They found themselves in the middle of the sea, but Erebos kept going.

The air began to grow cold and Pitch saw a vast field of ice up ahead. The Northern Lights were playing in the sky and the nightmare king knew that they were getting close to North's home.

Finally, they found North's workshop and Erebos flew downward. The Pegasus found an opening that led inside and they went in. Erebos flew around North's globe and his neighs caught the attention of the toy-making yetis and the elves.

Erebos landed on the balcony, where North was waiting, and he did not look pleased.

"Pitch Black, you better explain why you are here?" he asked in his Russian accent.

"I'm not here to cause trouble," Pitch said, "I came to ask you something."

"Whatever it is, I will not do it," North replied and turned away.

Pitch began to think, he didn't want to tell Grace that her loving idol rejected to meet her.

"Oh, then I suppose I'll go and tell Grace that you don't want to meet her," Pitch said. North heard this and stopped in his tracks and looked at the boogeyman.

"She would be very upset that the real Santa Clause refused to meet her," Pitch added, turning around, pretending to attend to Erebos, and formed a grin.

"Why didn't you say so? I would love to meet Grace! She's been a good girl so far this year!" North replied and took Pitch into his arms, giving him a chocking hug. Pitch was surprised, but he remained calm till he could not take it anymore.

"Alright, alright! Calm down!" the boogeyman commanded and North put him down.

"I think I know just the thing; a Christmas Eve party for all the Guardians to attend! And Grace will be our honored guest!" North exclaimed.

"You've read my mind," Pitch said, while stroking Erebos' neck.

"Oh, I can see it; you bringing Grace up here and everyone will be saying, "Oh, what a beautiful girl Pitch has!" Then, there—"

"Stop!" Pitch shouted and North went silent. "Sorry, but Grace is just a child that I am charged to watch over," the boogeyman said.

"Not from what I heard from Jack Frost," North replied. Pitch grew irritated because he knew Jack had told North and perhaps everyone else about what had happened the other day.

"I'll tell you what, I'll take care of the party, while you take care of Grace. I'm sure no one will turn down the invitation," North said.

"You would do that? Thank you, you and the others will not regret this," Pitch replied and got on Erebos.

"One more thing," North said and Pitch looks at him, "I hear that the others have not forgiven you for the deeds you have done. If you keep your end of the bargain, I'll be the first to forgive you."

"I swear, I will bring Grace here for the celebration," the Shadow Man replied. He gave a little kick to Erebos' side and the Pegasus flew off and they headed back to Blackpool.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

At the Blackpool Secondary School of Art, Grace and the other students began their morning routine by singing the country's national anthem 'God Save the Queen'.

"Children, I have an announcement to make!" Headmistress Margaret Johnson said in a loud voice on the intercom.

"For those who are new here, please listen carefully. Every year, the school has a contest, to see who has the best artistic skills. Those who wish to enter, please summit a piece of your best work at the end of the day of the 31st of October. The pieces will be judged by selected staff on the night of the 4th of November.

"The winner will be awarded *£175 and a visit from the headmaster of the University of Art in London. This year, the theme will be fantasy. If you have any questions, please ask your teachers or the office assistants. And please, we believe that every student has a great gift, and don't worry, if you don't succeed this year, there's always next year," the headmistress explained.

Grace was surprised when she heard this. She really wanted to enter this contest and she made a mental note to ask her parents when she got home. She also decided to tell Pitch about this.

In her first class, Grace found Lizzy and sat next to her. "Are you going to enter in the contest?" she asked Lizzy.

"Yes, I'm going to draw a unicorn. What about you?" Lizzy asked.

"A Pegasus or maybe the boogeyman," Grace replied and Lizzy stares at her.

"Why the boogeyman?" she asked, again.

"My mum said that he is a good spirit who protects children from bad dreams, but he punishes those who have been bad," Grace explained.

"Hmmm, that's interesting," Lizzy said, "Have you seen him?" she asked.

Grace began to think; she didn't want to tell Lizzy that she, Grace, was friends with Pitch, but she couldn't turn her question down.

"I have," Grace replied, "I believe he is real."

"I know he's real, like Santa Clause, but why do I have bad dreams if I have not been bad?" Lizzy asked, again.

"My mum said that sometimes the bad dreams will creep up on you while you sleep," Grace answered.

"That explains it," Lizzy said.

"Do you think Megan will enter the contest?" Grace asked her friend.

"I'm sure she will. As I said, she wishes to be the best. She entered in the contest a year ago, but lost. I heard she had a temper tantrum in the room where the pieces were being displayed and she did it in front of the judges. Her father had a talk with the judges, but I think they refused to apologize for picking someone other than Megan to win," Lizzy explained and everyone hushed and got to work when the teacher came in.

Lunch time came and the students were dismissed for their midday meal. Grace and Lizzy went outside, again and sat under the ash tree, again.

"Grace, I'm sorry for lying yesterday," Lizzy said, "I really didn't want Megan to tease me."

"It's all right, she's a bully, but don't worry, bullies never win in the end," Grace replied.

"I hope she loses the contest," Lizzy said and Grace nods in agreement.

Then, Grace spotted Pitch and Erebos in the shade of the trees. "Excuse me, I have to go to the lavatory," Grace said and got up.

She headed towards the back of the school, pointing to where Pitch should meet her. After finding a good spot, the boogeyman came up to her.

"How's your day? No trouble I hope," he asked and Grace shook her head.

"Listen, the school is having an art contest," she replied and Pitch gave a smile.

"Are you entering in?" he asked, again.

"Yes, the winner gets a lot of money and a visit from the headmaster of the top art school in London. The theme is fantasy. I want to draw you and Erebos in the woods, if that is all right," Grace said and Erebos neighed.

"That's sound splendid, but can you promise me something?" Pitch asked and Grace nods. "I want to be the first to see your finished piece," Pitch said and Grace nods, again.

"Where did you go this morning?" she asked.

"That I can't discuss. You're going to have to wait until Christmas time," Pitch replied and Grace's face lit up.

"Oh, it's a surprise! If you tell me, I'll still act surprised on Christmas," she said, but Pitch shook his head.

"Sorry, I can't tell you, but you have to promise me to be real good for the rest of the year," he said to her and Grace nods.

"Now you run along," he replied and the little girl headed back to find her friend.

Pitch petted Erebos, "I hope she wins," he said to the Pegasus.

"Don't get your hopes up too high," a voice spoke and Pitch looked around.

A few feet away, Bunnymund had appeared from a rabbit-hole and he was scratching an itch with his back hind leg.

"Let me guess, the big boss has sent you to check up on me?" Pitch asked.

"Yes, he did, and to tell you that North is hosting some Christmas party this year. He said that the child you're watching is the honored guest," Bunnymund said and Pitch nods.

"If you ask me, I think you're becoming quite attached to this Grace," the Easter Bunny added.

Pitch felt annoyed by this and replies, "I am not."

"Oh, yes you are. If you become attached to this girl, the big boss will be very angry," Bunnymund said.

"Don't you have work to do?" Pitch asked, hoping that the Easter Bunny would go away.

"Fine, but a word of advice; don't get your hopes up with this contest. And one more thing, I will not forgive you, ever," Bunnymund replied and tapped on the ground. A hole appeared and the Easter Bunny disappeared down the hole.

Erebos nudged at Pitch. "I suppose he is right, I should not get too attached to Grace and expect her to win," the boogeyman said and they walked into the darkest shade of the trees.

()()()()()()

*For those who don't know British currency, this is the pound symbol.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The school day went on without incident for Grace as Megan was nowhere to be seen. "Maybe she's ill!" Lizzy exclaimed in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah, if she didn't hear about the contest, maybe she won't enter!" Grace replied.

"Unless her father spoke with the headmistress in private," Lizzy said and that killed the good mood for both of them.

"I have yet to see Megan's drawings, have you seen them?" Grace asked.

"I have," Lizzy replied, "And I have to admit, they were quite ugly, but that was a year ago. Maybe she improved, at least I hope not. If she didn't, then she won't be this year's winner in the contest," Lizzy said. "To be honest, I hope you win," she added.

Grace's mother picked her daughter up from school and Grace told her about the contest.

"That sounds splendid, what do you plan to sketch?" her mother asked.

"That I want to keep secret, I want to surprise you and daddy," Grace replied.

When they arrived home, Grace checked outside to see if Pitch was anywhere on the property, but he wasn't.

The boogeyman and his escort, Erebos were flying over the skyline of London. It was bigger than Blackpool with bright lights, loud noises, and people everywhere. Pitch was looking for the University of Art, but London was a huge city that he might not find it tonight.

Then, Erebos took a downward fall, straight towards earth, and Pitch held onto his mane. "You are one crazy animal!" the nightmare king shouted, but the Pegasus ignored him.

Erebos landed in some kind of courtyard that was surrounded by white marble buildings, which suggests that this place was built recently.

Pitch walked around the courtyard and took a peek through the glass windows. On the walls were paintings made of oil or watercolor and they were amazing to look at. He looked in more rooms, finding one that had marble statues that were very detailed with human features.

Pitch looked around to see if he could find the charcoal drawings. He did find the gallery and was amazed by the drawings. Some pictures were of people, while others had landscapes, and there were a few that had still life or animals.

"Grace will fit in here, I know she will," Pitch said to Erebos, who nodded.

The two decided to leave and Erebos flew above the city of London. Pitch formed some black sand and created some nightmares. "Listen very carefully, I want you to haunt the dreams of those who have been bad. Do not intervene with those who have been good, understand?" the nightmares' master asked and the creatures nodded and they went away.

Unfortunately, some of the nightmares disobeyed their master and Pitch had to stop them. It took him all night to led the nightmares to the bad children and the sun was beginning to rise.

"I should've been at Grace's hours ago," he said to Erebos and the black Pegasus took him to Blackpool.

When they arrived at the Dawson house, Pitch entered in Grace's room, hoping to not scare her when she woke up. However, something did not feel right and Pitch took a peek under the blankets. Instead of Grace, there were pillows under the sheets.

"Grace? Grace?" he called out, but no sight of the girl.

Suddenly, something grabbed him by the ankles and he gasped in surprised and looked down. At his feet, the girl crawled out from under the bed and started to laugh.

"I scared you, didn't I?" Grace asked and Pitch had to chuckle.

"You sure did. Listen, you won't believe where I went last night," he said and Grace decided to listen. "I went to the university that you mentioned and it is an artist's paradise," Pitch explained.

"Pitch," Grace replied, "I thought it be best that I don't enter the contest."

"What? But you seemed so excited, why give up?" Pitch asked.

"What if the other people don't like my drawing of you and Erebos? What if they say I am not good enough?" Grace replied, but Pitch shook his head.

"Is that you believe? People letting you down in the end? I don't think so," the boogeyman said. "Grace, don't let that fear eat at you, otherwise you won't be able to see what the ultimate reward will be. Now, I know people will love your drawings as much as I do," Pitch added.

"You love my drawings?" Grace asked.

"Of course I do, I did say that you surprise me every time," he answered and Grace nods.

"All right, I'll do it," she replied and Pitch smiled.

Awhile later, Grace left the house to go to school and Pitch hoped that she would have a good day.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The month of September endured some days of hot weather, but it grew chilly by the end. There were some days that Blackpool was plagued by rainstorms.

Grace went to school every day, learning about the history of art and had the opportunity, along with everyone else to draw in one class.

However, there was tension between Grace and Megan. One day, Megan saw a charcoal drawing of a tree that was so detailed and it was done by Grace. When no one was looking, she licked her hand with spit and smeared the drawing, ruining it.

Grace discovered her damaged art work the next day and showed it to Pitch. He was angry and he knew that Megan did the deed.

"I'll pay her another visit tonight," he said to her during her lunch break.

That evening, Pitch and Erebos flew to the Honeycutt house and waited for the girl to fall asleep.

When he took a peek inside the girl's room, Pitch saw Megan with her father. "Daddy, everyone will know that you did it," the girl said.

"Nonsense, no one will ever know," Mr. Honeycutt replied.

Pitch saw in the man's hand a piece of paper and on the paper was a charcoal drawing of a fairy with butterfly wings. He then realized that Mr. Honeycutt did the drawing, not Megan, and they plan to send it into the contest.

"So, they want to cheat?" Pitch said to Erebos, who gave a snort.

"I know, I know, but we need to expose them, and I believe Jack Frost will be just the one to do so," the Shadow Man replied.

Once Megan was asleep, Pitch sent in a nightmare to haunt her and he and Erebos flew away to find the mischievous spirit of winter.

In the city of Iqaluit, in Nunavut, Canada, Jack Frost was his old self; playing with the ice cold wind and throwing snowballs at the children.

Erebos and Pitch were greeted by a very icy wind. "Oh, that is cold!" the boogeyman exclaimed, rubbing his shoulders.

Then, Jack Frost flew passed them and Erebos followed him. "Jack!" Pitch called out.

The winter spirit saw him and he pointed to the roof of a building. Erebos landed and Pitch got off the saddle and Jack landed on the edge of the roof.

"Well now, if it ain't the nightmare crew," Jack said.

"Jack, I came here to tell you something and ask for a favor," Pitch replied and he went on to explain about Megan Honeycutt and that she planned to cheat in the contest.

"And what is the favor?" Jack asked.

"Your snowflakes, they are like a truth serum?" Pitch replied and Jack nodded.

"Sort of," the winter spirit said.

"Well, on the night of the contest, I want you to use your snowflakes to expose Mr. Honeycutt's secret," the boogeyman explained.

"I'll be there, but I want to ask you a favor," Jack replied and Pitch looked at him. "I want to have the first dance with Grace on the night of the Christmas party."

"What?" Pitch asked, he was quite surprised and irritated. He really did not want Jack to ruin Grace's night with the other Guardians, as Jack liked to cause trouble. "No," Pitch added.

"Well then, I suppose I will not show up on the night of the contest. Then Megan will win and no one will know she cheated and poor Grace will-" "Alright, alright, I'll let you dance with Grace, but I need your word that you won't cause mischief that night," Pitch cut in and looked deep into Jack's winter blue/gray eyes.

"Okay, I will behave," the winter spirit said.

"You swear?" Pitch asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"I cross my heart and hope to be snuffed out of existence," Jack replied and then the wind picked him up and he flew away.

Pitch shook his head; Jack had the heart and mind of a child, but he did put up a good fight when Pitch rebelled against the other Guardians.

The boogeyman and Erebos left the Arctic city and headed back to Blackpool. Along the way, Pitch released some nightmares and gave them orders to plague the bad children with bad dreams.

When he got back to the Dawson house, it was still dark and Grace was asleep.

Pitch shook her awake, "Grace? I'm sorry to disturb you, but I have to tell you something," he said when she woke up.

"Can it wait until later?" she asked and struggled to hold back a yawn.

"I'm sorry it can't," Pitch replied and says, "I visited Megan's house and I heard her and her father. They plan to cheat in the contest with a drawing Mr. Honeycutt made."

"What? Why would he do that?" Grace asked, now wide awake.

"I don't know, but from what I understand, Mr. Honeycutt likes to spoil his daughter," Pitch answered.

"What is there to do?" Grace asked, again.

"We need to expose them. I had a talk with Jack Frost and he said he will help out," the nightmare king replied and tells her of the conversation he had with Jack, leaving out the Christmas party.

"By the way, when are you going to do the sketch of me and Erebos?" Pitch asked.

"Saturday, meet me in the woods in the morning," Grace replied.

Pitch let her go back to sleep and he headed on out to do his duty. While Pitch was riding on Erebos, he looked up at the moon.

"Old friend, I hope you have been watching me, but please, watch over Grace," he said as he released a cloud of black sand over the country of England and the nightmares headed out to find more bad children.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The first day of October brought in chilly weather for Blackpool. The inhabitants, including Grace and her family were preparing for the Halloween festivities.

It was also Saturday and Grace, Pitch, and Erebos were eager to start on the sketch.

"Mummy, I will be out in the woods today," Grace told her mother.

"It's supposed to rain. You best take a raincoat and an umbrella," the woman said to her daughter.

Grace put on a green raincoat and a big umbrella and took her sketchbook and charcoal pencils.

Gray clouds covered the sky, but Grace ignored them as she entered the woods.

She found Pitch and Erebos by the stream. "What do you want to do?" he asked and Grace began to think.

Then, the rain came down in big droplets. "Oh no, not now," Grace said and opened up the umbrella.

Erebos lifted a wing over Pitch, shielding his master. Grace looked at them and says, "That's perfect!"

She had Pitch sit down on the flat rock and possession Erebos' wing over him. "Look down at the stream," Grace said to Pitch and he did.

Grace sat under the umbrella and went to work. She started drawing Pitch and then Erebos. Grace only took one look at them and had her eyes glued to the paper.

The rain was getting heavier, but Grace kept going. Pitch took one look at her, noticing the calm, yet concentrating face on her.

A half-hour later, Grace had finished the piece. "You best get inside or you'll catch your death out here," Pitch said and she went back to the house.

Pitch went up to her room and waited for Grace to come and show her the finished piece.

"Grace! My goodness!" her mother exclaimed and Pitch listened. "You go and take a hot bath, you don't want to catch a cold, do you?"

"No mum, I don't," Grace replied and headed up to her room.

"Pitch," she whispered and he came out of the shadows. "Here it is," she said and opened up the sketchbook.

Pitch released a gasp of surprise when he saw the piece. In it, Pitch was staring at the stream while Erebos had a wing hover over the nightmare king, shielding him from the rain. The Pitch in the sketch had a sorrowful face as if he lost something. Pitch could not stop staring at it; it was so detailed that it looked like a black and white photograph.

"Do you like it?" Grace asked.

"No, I love it," Pitch said, honestly.

"I drew you with a sad face because the children of the world had forgotten about you," Grace replied and closed the sketchbook.

The girl went through her dresser drawers to find new clothes. "I'll be taking a bath, but I won't take long," Grace said and left the room.

Then, Canaletto came in and brushed himself against Pitch. "Hello Canny," the boogeyman said to the cat and he sat down on Grace's bed.

The cat leapt onto Pitch's lap and he began to pet Canaletto. "What is the matter with me? I used to enjoy myself by spreading fear, but now, I feel guilty by what I have done in the past," Pitch said, but the cat just purred.

He took another peek at the drawing, it was beautiful and he wish he could take it, but he couldn't.

Pitch took the cat off his lap and went back out into the rainy day.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

October gave way to chilly evenings and the leaves on the trees had changed color from green to blazing reds or bright yellows.

A few days before turning in the art pieces, Lizzy came up to Grace and says, "I'm having a Halloween party after school that day. There will be games and a costume contest, do you want to come?"

"That sounds like fun, I'll go," Grace answered.

Halloween had arrived and it was also the day for Grace and the other students who wish to enter the contest to turn in their pieces.

Grace had carefully torn out the drawing of Pitch and Erebos and placed it inside a folder with her name on it.

However, she felt a sense of fear inside. She kept asking herself, "What if Megan discovered it and ruins it?"

She held onto the drawing throughout the day, refusing to let it out of her site.

Finally, the school day came to an end, but Grace still had that sense of fear.

Pitch had noticed this throughout the day and he decided to guard Grace's drawing from any vandals who wish to ruin it.

Grace went up to her art teacher Mrs. Fredericks when it was her turn to hand her drawing over.

"Are you all right?" the teacher asked.

"I'm just a little nervous," Grace replied.

"Don't worry, we'll lock up your drawing along with the other charcoal pieces when we collect them all," Mrs. Fredericks assured her and placed Grace's folder in an art drawer.

Grace then noticed Pitch hanging from the ceiling like a bat. He pointed at the drawer, as if to say, "I'll keep an eye on it."

The girl left the room and her mother picked her up. "Are you excited for the contest?" the woman asked.

"I am, but I feel really nervous," Grace answered.

"You shouldn't be nervous. It's Halloween and tonight you're going to have fun at Lizzy's," her mother replied.

Back inside the school, Mrs. Fredericks was about to lock up the art drawer, when Megan came in. "Excuse me, Mrs. Fredericks? The headmistress wishes to see you," she said.

Pitch knew right away that she was here to cause trouble. Once the art teacher left the room, Megan went up to the art drawer and opened it and began to look for something.

Pitch's heart began to pound, if only the art teacher caught her red-handed then Megan would be eliminated from the contest. However, he had to protect Grace's drawing and the others from being ruined.

Finally, Megan found Grace's folder and opened it up. She stared at the piece and Pitch could feel the jealousy in her.

Just then, Megan licked her hand with spit and Pitch made his move. He landed on the drawer feet first and Megan looked up and stared at the boogeyman.

"You are a bad girl Megan and you will be punished," Pitch said.

Megan opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She dropped the folder and ran out of the room.

Pitch picked up the folder, took one look at the drawing, making sure that Megan did not ruin it and placed it back inside the drawer.

He made sure that Mrs. Fredericks came back and when she did, she locked the drawer.

Pitch left the school and he and Erebos flew above the city of Blackpool. It was alive with the Halloween festivities; Jack-O-lanterns were lit, plastic bats and ghosts hung from the trees, and children crowded the streets wearing costumes and holding onto their candy buckets.

"Someday Erebos, this holiday will be mine," Pitch said to the Pegasus. Erebos headed straight for the Dawson house, where Grace was preparing for Lizzy's Halloween party.

Grace wore a fuchsia colored dress and a matching cape with a hood. Around her head, she wore a tear-drop crystal and gold tiara.

"Milady," Pitch said when he entered her room and bowed to her. "I must say you look beautiful in that," he added.

"Thank you. I'm a Medieval sorceress by the way," she replied.

"And what kind of magic do you perform?" he asked out of curiosity.

"The healing arts," Grace answered. "Is the drawing safe?" she asked.

"It is, but the trouble-maker Miss Honeycutt almost destroyed it. Don't worry, I scared her away before she did any damage and I'm sure she will not bother your drawing or anyone else's, again," Pitch said.

"That's what I was afraid of, but thank you," Grace replied.

"There's no need to be nervous. Tonight, you're going to have fun and I want you to be happy," Pitch said and gently patted her head.

Awhile later, Grace's mother drove her daughter to Lizzy's house. Lizzy's place was much like Grace's house, except it had an old barn next to it. In the barn, it was illuminated by orange colored lights and ghosts hung on the coat racks and on the ceiling.

"Oh Grace, you're pretty!" Lizzy exclaimed when she saw her friend. Lizzy was wearing a black cat dress with pink ruffles and her face was painted with whiskers and a black nose and wore cat ears on her head.

"You're pretty, too! I love cats!" Grace replied and the two girls went to the bob-for-apples game.

There were other people, too, mostly Lizzy's family, including her cousins. There were also some students from the school that Grace recognized.

The children played games, including who could scare the most people and did a 'monster march' around the barn.

Pitch watched from the shadows and he could tell that Grace was having a good time. Erebos nudged at him and Pitch scratched behind the Pegasus' ear.

"No, I will not scare the children tonight. Maybe next year," he assured.

"Hey!" a boy wearing a pirate costume said to the others, "Have you seen the boogeyman? I heard he's very scary!"

Grace realized that now was a good time to tell everyone. "He is not scary," she said and everyone looked at her. "My mother told me that the boogeyman is a good spirit, he only punishes children who have been bad," Grace explained.

"You know," another child said, "Megan said that the boogeyman came to her one night and scared her."

"It's because she's a bully and the boogeyman punishes bullies," Lizzy replied.

The other children agreed to this. "You know, I'm going to start being nice to my little brother," the pirate boy said.

"Yeah, me too, and maybe the boogeyman won't haunt us with bad dreams anymore," a girl in a fairy costume replied.

"There's one more thing you should know," Grace said and the children listened. "Sometimes the nightmares will creep up upon you when you sleep, but the boogeyman will scare them away."

The children nodded and continued to play games until it was time to have the costume contest.

Lizzy's parents, who were dressed like farmers came up to judge the children and their costumes. "Oh Grace, you're beautiful," Lizzy's mother commented and Grace thanked her.

Pitch listened in from the top floor of the barn and looked at Grace. She had told the children of how good he can be and he was going to thank her a little later.

"Alright children," Lizzy's father said to them, "In the first category, the best pirate costume, the winner is..."

The categories included best animal, superhero, and other sorts.

Lizzy won in the best animal category and received a basket that had a lot of toys and sweets.

The last category, best Medieval or Renaissance costume was called, "Grace Dawson," Lizzy's mother called out.

Grace also received a basket of toys and candy and the children who were not winners were given a handful of sweets.

The night had whined down and the children began to leave Lizzy's place. Grace's mother picked up her tired daughter and Grace thanked Lizzy for the party.

When they got home, Grace went up to her room and changed out of the costume. When she got into a nightgown, she called, "Pitch, are you here?"

"I am," he replied and stepped out of the shadows.

"I want to thank you for telling the children to believe in me," he said and Grace nodded and yawned.

She laid her down and Pitch placed a blanket over her. "Happy Halloween Pitch," she said and shuts her eyes.

"Happy Halloween Grace. Good night," he replied and he leaves her room.

Pitch rode on Erebos and they flew above the city of Blackpool. Then, Pitch felt something inside. It felt like the children had started to believe in him and admire him.

Throughout the night, Pitch did his ritual of releasing the nightmares. He led them to the bad children and shielded the good children from the bad dreams.

However, Pitch did find some children being haunted by a dark cloud that hovered over their heads. He took one cloud in his hand, the sand was much blacker than his and he knew what it was.

"Night terrors," he said. He knew where they came from, but he refused to believe that the one spirit was indeed alive and giving children night terrors.

Pitch went on his way and continued his duty throughout the night.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Somewhere deep in the earth, where the night terrors were coming from, a female spirit sat on a black throne.

The female spirit was named Mora* and she looked like a goddess of nightmares. She wore a black dress and a black crown rested atop her head. Her hair was black as night and her eyes were also black.

"Go my night terrors," she said in an icy voice, "Give the children the worst of the worst."

The night terrors were made of black sand, much like Pitch's nightmares, but they were of wolves, vicious dogs, and other fierce looking creatures.

Mora was much like Pitch, except she enjoyed taunting the children's dreams with night terrors, making them afraid to sleep.

As a matter of fact, Mora and Pitch were partners and they were at one time in love. Pitch, however, abandoned her after the children started to not believe in her and he had forgotten about her. That was during the Dark Ages and Mora desired in becoming Pitch's lover, again. She had no such luck in locating him, as the Man in the Moon had banished her to the deepest realms of the Earth.

On this night, a night terror in the form of a spider came to her. The creature spoke to her and Mora gave a look of excitement.

"Pitch is back?!" she exclaimed and got up from her throne. "Where is he?" she asked, but the spider gave no response.

"You little idiot!" Mora shouted and crushed the creature in her hand. Black sand fell to the floor and Mora looks at the other night terrors.

"Find Pitch and see what he is up to," she ordered and the creatures went away.

"Now my beloved, we will be together, again, and we will conquer this world with terror," Mora said to herself and sat down on her throne and waited.

()()()()()()

*According to Slav mythology, _Mora _or _Mara_ is a dark spirit who takes the form of a beautiful woman. She visits men in their dreams, torturing them with desire, and eventually sucking the life out of them.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Halloween faded away upon the midnight hour and everyone simmered down to sleep. Days had passed and now it was November 4th, the day of the art contest at the Blackpool Secondary School of Art.

The staff had set up different sections in the auditorium, one for the watercolor, one for oil, another for clay sculptures, and the other for charcoal drawings.

When the teachers were setting up the charcoal section, one put up Grace's drawing and the other teachers were amazed by this.

"It looks like a photograph," one commented.

"Who do you think that is?" another asked, pointing to the Pitch in the drawing.

"He looks like the boogeyman," someone said and they went back to work.

Outside, the students and their families were waiting to enter in the auditorium. The students were wearing their school uniforms, but some were eager to take them off.

Grace looked around, wondering if Pitch was in the school. She looked up at the skyline window and saw him and Erebos.

"It will be all right," he mouthed the words and Grace nodded.

Then, Headmistress Margaret Johnson stepped out and greeted the children and their families. "Hello children, the auditorium is now open," she said and the students with their families entered in.

Grace found Lizzy and both of their families made each of their acquaintance. "Where's your drawing?" Grace asked and Lizzy led the way.

Lizzy's drawing was of a unicorn on a cliff, overlooking the ocean. "Oh it's pretty," Grace commented.

"Where's yours?" Lizzy asked and she and Grace began to look.

They came across a crowd and they had to squeeze through the people to get up to the front. What they were looking at was Grace's drawing and Lizzy's mouth fell open.

"Grace, it looks…so…real…" Lizzy said.

Then, Grace's parents came up to the front of the crowd and exchanged looks of surprise.

"Grace, who is that?" her mother asked.

The girl began to think; she can't tell her parents that she drew a stranger, otherwise they'll go berserk. She replies, "I saw it in a dream."

"Is that the boogeyman?" her father asked and she nods. "He looks sad," he added.

"He looks as if he lost something," her mother replied.

Pitch looked down through the skyline window and he watched the crowd admire Grace's drawing.

"Let's go find Megan's drawing, just a quick look," Grace said to Lizzy, who nodded.

The two girls did find Megan's, or according to Grace, Mr. Honeycutt's drawing of a fairy with butterfly wings. It looked good, but Grace remembered what Pitch said that Megan and her father had actually cheated.

Up on the roof, Pitch was getting impatient in waiting for Jack Frost. Erebos noticed his master's irritation and stomped his hoof.

"I know, but what if Megan does win without anyone realizing that she cheated," Pitch said to the Pegasus.

Just then, a cold wind blew in and Pitch heard the laughter of Jack Frost. The winter spirit landed on the roof and the boogeyman says, "Right on time."

"They started the party without me?" Jack asked and looked down from the skyline window.

"Where's Grace?" he asked, again. Pitch pointed her out and Jack grew wide eyed. "She's…very pretty," he replied.

A half-hour passed and it came the time for the judges to choose the winner. "After viewing everyone's piece, we have never seen such beautiful artwork. We admired all of your hard work, but only one will be the winner," Mrs. Fredericks said to the students. She turned away to face the other staff who were chosen to be the judges and they gave her a slip of paper.

Pitch began to pray, "Let it be Grace," he whispered and his heart began to pound.

"This year's winner is…Grace Dawson," Mrs. Fredericks announced.

The whole auditorium erupted in claps and cheers and Grace released a sigh of relief and so did Pitch.

Grace was led to the stage to receive her winnings; a check for £175 and she shook hands with the headmaster of the University of Art, Mr. James Dundee.

"You can come to the university whenever you are ready for a visit," he said and he handed Grace a slip of paper. It was an art scholarship certificate with Grace's name on it. Grace thanked him and the judges.

When she stepped down from the stage, she came face-to-face with Megan, and she looked very angry.

"I deserve to win!" she shouted and everyone hushed, including Pitch and Jack. "She must've cheated!" Megan said in a loud voice.

"Here we go," Jack said to Pitch and he sent a snowflake down and it hit Mr. Honeycutt in the nose.

"Leave her alone, Megan," he ordered his daughter.

"But daddy, she cheated! I know she did!" Megan whined at her father and everyone listened.

"Actually Megan, we cheated," Mr. Honeycutt replied and everyone gasped in horror.

Megan gave her father a look of surprise and was helpless to stop him when he said that he drew the drawing, not Megan.

"This one will be the icing on the cake," Jack said and a snowflake went down and touched Grace.

"Why did you cheat?" she asked Megan. "You know, for the past two months, you delighted yourself in torturing the other students. Do you want to know why?" Grace asked, again.

Everyone listened carefully to the girl and she goes on to say, "I believe your father spoils you with goodies and he'll grant your every wish. You thought that friends don't matter and that your father will help you get whatever you want.

"You know, one day, you'll look back on this night and say, 'Why did I do this?' You'll grow up and regret in what you did here and to the students. I also believe that no one will ever want to be your friend and you'll live alone for the rest of your life."

Megan's eyes filled with tears, but she looked ready to pounce on Grace. However, Lizzy stood in front Grace and other students followed suit.

"Grace said that bullies never win. Admit it, you lost," Lizzy whispered to Megan and that broke the camel's back.

The bully ran out of the auditorium in tears, her mother following behind. Then, someone started to clap and the parents, except for Mr. Honeycutt, and other students followed suit.

Pitch could not help it and he clapped his hands and so did Jack. "Thank you," Pitch said to Jack and he nodded. Then, a cold wind picked the winter spirit off the ground and he flew away.

The headmistress shook hands with Grace and the other students, congratulating them for standing up to Megan and she turned to Mr. Honeycutt. "I need to see you and your daughter in my office now," she commanded and she led him out.

Awhile later, everyone left the school, including Grace and her family. "Grace, I'm so proud of you," her mother said and hugged her daughter.

Lizzy came up to her and they hugged. "Listen, I would like to split the money with you," Grace said and Lizzy gasped in surprise.

"But it's yours," she replied.

"And you're my friend and friends give gifts. Besides, I'm just going to stow it away until I go to the university, which reminds me," Grace said and turned to her parents.

"Can I tell Mr. Dundee that I would rather wait until I'm older to go?" she asked.

"I don't see why not, but he said we can go and visit. Also, the university actually pays for your tuition, that's what a scholarship is for," Mr. Dawson said.

The two friends and their families departed ways and the Dawson's returned home.

Grace had the certificate displayed on her wall in her bed room. She prepared herself for bed after taking a bath and returned to discover Pitch looking at the certificate.

"Congratulations Grace. I told you that everyone will love your drawing," he said.

At that moment, Grace threw her arms around his waist and hugged him. Pitch was surprised and he returned the hug.

"Just to let you know, I can't wait for this surprise around Christmas," she said and Pitch twirled one of her red and brown locks.

"I can't either. It's late, you should go to sleep," he replied and Grace went to bed.

Pitch went outside, where Erebos was waiting. "She did it," he said to the Pegasus. The two then headed out to perform their nightly ceremony.

In the shadows, however, a black sand wolf stepped out. It had listened on Pitch's talk with Grace and it headed back to the underground to report to its mistress.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Back in Mora's realm, the queen of night terrors was greeted by the black sand wolf. It informed its mistress of what it heard and saw.

"Pitch is seeing a girl?" Mora asked the wolf and it nodded. "I need to know more about this, find more information," she said and the wolf went on its way.

Awhile later, the wolf had returned with one of Pitch's nightmares.

"Excellent," Mora replied and took the black sand horse by the throat.

"You, tell me what do you know about Pitch and this girl," the goddess demanded and the creature winced in fear.

Fearing for its life, the nightmare told Mora everything that it knew. Mora gave a chuckle and that moment, she sucked the life out of the nightmare reducing it to nothingness.

"My night terrors," she said to her creatures and they listened, "Keep on doing your duty, I will need to think of a plan."

The creatures left and Mora took a step out on the surface, staring up at the moon.

"Don't give me that look, it's time that terror will rise to power, and there will be no hope left and you'll be powerless to stop me and my sweet Pitch. That is unless, he wishes to rejoin me. Will your guardians stop us? I don't think so," Mora said and she retreated back into her dark cave.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

November came and went and December greeted the inhabitants of Blackpool with the first snow fall of the month.

The Christmas spirit was strong and alive within the people, especially the children. Grace was also excited for Christmas, including the surprise Pitch had promised to show her.

Upon returning to school after the contest, Grace was informed that Megan was expelled and had been barred from other art schools in the county of Lancashire.

True to her word, Grace spilt her reward money by half and gave it to Lizzy. In return, Lizzy gave her a new kitten that had been born in the barn.

Grace named her new cat Constable, after John Constable, a famous British landscape artist.

Throughout this time, Pitch had done his duty in watching over Grace and continued it. For Lizzy's kindness, he also protected her from the nightmares and had asked the Sand Man to award her with a good dream.

However, Pitch had run into night terrors, but he believed that they were strays, as their mistress Mora had been "dead" for many centuries. Right now, however, he was not sure if Mora was really dead.

Now, it was the last week of school and Grace and the other students were taking the last few finals before being released for Christmas break.

Finally, at the end of the day, Grace and the students finished on the finals and headed out.

Snow had started to fall and continued to blanket the city and countryside throughout the day and into the next morning.

"It seems that Jack Frost has picked a new place to play," Grace's father commented on the weather.

Grace ventured out into the snowy meadow next to her house and left foot prints in the fresh white powder.

"Pitch?" she whispered and waited for an answer.

She then heard Erebos neighing in reply and the black Pegasus and his master stepped out.

Pitch gave a bow to her and so did Erebos. "Grace, I'll let you in on a little secret," the boogeyman said and whispers, "You're surprise is at the North Pole and Erebos and I will be taking you there tonight."

"Oh! I get to meet Santa Clause?!" she exclaimed, but Pitch didn't answer.

Erebos nudged at Grace and she petted his neck. "I advise you to go to sleep early and wake up at midnight. We will be waiting," Pitch said to Grace and she nodded.

"Should I wear anything special?" she asked.

"Just something warm, like a robe, and bed slippers. Oh and bring your sketchbook, I sort of promised the guardians to have you show your work," he replied and he and Erebos left her.

Grace occupied herself for the rest of the day by creating a snow horse. She was not only good with charcoal, but she was also good in sculpting in snow.

Grace continued in creating the snow horse and had completed it when the sun was going down. She retreated inside her warm house and went to bed early, but she first set her alarm clock to 11:59 and went to sleep.

A few hours later, the alarm clock rang and Grace shut it off before her parents could hear.

She put on her winter blue robe and matching bed slippers and took her sketchbook. She quietly tiptoed down the stairs and headed out the door.

She noticed that Pitch and Erebos were looking at the snow horse she had made. "Grace, you never told me you can do this," the boogeyman said to her.

"I should have, but you left before I said anything," Grace replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," he said and Erebos nudged at him. "Alright, alright, we're going."

Pitch helped Grace up onto the Pegasus and he got on. "Hold on tight," he commanded and gave a little kick.

Erebos went into a gallop, spread his wings, and went up into the sky.

The three flew above a white landscape of countryside as they entered Scotland and continued north.

The Pegasus then flew above a sea, ice floes were scattered and the three had spotted a few humpback whales.

They reached the Arctic region and Pitch knew they were getting close when they saw the Northern Lights.

Erebos landed close to North's workshop and Pitch helped Grace down. "This is Santa's home?" she asked and Pitch nods.

He took her hand and leads her up the stairs and they stopped in front of a set of stain-glass doors.

Pitch and Grace opened the doors and Grace gave a look of surprise when she saw the toy-making yetis.

The yetis parted, making a path for the two and they walked around a balcony of some sort. Grace and Pitch walked into a circle and the girl gasped in surprise when she saw the big man with the white beard and red shirt.

"There she is! Grace Dawson!" North exclaimed and opened his arms for her. Grace embraced him and they hugged.

"I knew it! You are real!" she exclaimed and couldn't stop the tears of joy from falling from her eyes.

"You've been a very good girl this year, Grace, and now, it's time for a party," North said, but he first introduced the other guardians to her.

"The Tooth Fairy!" she gasped and Tooth and her assistants gave smiles. "Oh, you are more beautiful and your assistants are so cute," Grace added and Baby Tooth rubbed up against her cheek.

"Oh thank you," Tooth replied.

Grace shook hands with Sandy, but he didn't say a word. "He doesn't talk much," Bunnymund said to the girl and she gasped.

"You're the Easter Bunny!" she said and scratched behind his ears. Bunnymund's foot thumped in response and Grace giggled.

"And here's Jack Frost," Pitch said and Grace turned to face the winter spirit.

She stared at Jack for a long time, but she shook her head. "Nice to meet you Jack and I should thank you for bringing the snow to my little part of the world," she said.

"You're quite welcome," he replied and he turned to face North. "I believe it's time to start the music," he added and North agreed.

He clapped his hands and some yetis began to play on the instruments, but they were not good.

"Not to brag, but I think they could turn it up a notch," Jack said, while creating some snowflakes and they touched the music-playing yetis.

*Then, the yetis began to bring the liveliness out and everyone began to dance.

"May I?" Jack asked Grace, holding out a hand. She took it and they began to dance. Pitch watched from the side, clapping to the beat, but deep down, he felt a sense of jealousy toward Jack.

When the yetis finished the first song, Grace and Jack completed their dance and they bowed.

"I want to dance with him," she said, pointing to Pitch and Grace took his hands.

They started their dance, but Grace looks at Jack and says, "I had a lot of fun, Jack!" The winter spirit smiled in response.

Grace and Pitch danced to the beat of the bagpipes and drums.

Then, North and Bunnymund got on a table and the big man began to do a tap dance. "Show off! I can do better!" the Easter Bunny shouted and he began to dance.

Everyone began to clap and cheer and Grace and Pitch joined in on the tap dance. Grace took off her slippers and did it barefoot.

There were cheers and claps as the song came to an end.

Pitch and Grace came upon a game of mercy with Bunnymund and Jack. Pitch took two glasses of apple cider and Grace gulped the whole drink down and he looks at her in amazement.

"What? You haven't seen a girl drink before?" she asked and Pitch just chuckled.

Then, Jack won the game of mercy and everyone cheered, but Bunnymund groaned.

"So?" Grace said to them, "You fellows think you're tough? Watch this," she added and handed the bottom of her robe to Pitch and he held it up.

Then, Grace rose off the floor and stood on her tip-toes and everyone looked at her in bewilderment.

Grace couldn't hold it any longer and collapsed, but Pitch caught her. "I admit it, that was my first time," she said to him.

The two went for another dance, but they got tangled up in the wave of excitement and they crashed to the floor.

North ordered the music to stop and helped Grace and Pitch to their feet.

"Come, there's something I want you to see," he said and showed her outside and led her to a stable.

Inside, the reindeer got excited when they saw the newcomer and Grace petted them.

North called for the elves to bring something and they brought in a wrapped gift.

Meanwhile, Grace had shown her drawings to the guardians. "Grace, these are beautiful," Tooth commented.

"Grace, this is for you, Merry Christmas," North said and gave her the gift.

She unwrapped it, revealing a wooden case with her name craved so elegantly on it and she opened it. Inside, there were dozens of charcoals pencils, nicely sharpened and a small sketchbook was tied tight on the side.

"Grace," Pitch said, "I hate to say this, but it's time to go."

Grace gave the guardians a hug and they watched her and Pitch get on Erebos. "Hold it!" North exclaimed and Pitch looked at him. "I did say that I would be the first to forgive you," North said to the boogeyman. At that moment, the jolly man took Pitch by the shoulders and North kissed both his cheeks. Pitch felt embarrassed when North let him go and Grace couldn't help, but laugh.

"Wait a minute," Tooth said and flies up to Pitch. She bows her head and says, "I forgive you." Pitch nodded his head in return.

Pitch got on Erebos and the guardians waved goodbye and the Pegasus went up into the sky and headed back to Blackpool.

The three made it back before the sun rose and Pitch helped her off the Pegasus and led her to her house.

Pitch stopped and Grace walked up to the stoop and looked back. Pitch gave a wave, but Grace felt sad. She sat her new case and sketchbook down and ran up to him and they embraced. "I had fun tonight, the best in my life" she said.

Grace went inside and Pitch couldn't help but smile.

"I had fun, too," he said to the Pegasus.

Then, a cold wind blew in and Pitch looked around and Jack Frost came into view.

"Are you here to ask for another favor?" Pitch asked the winter spirit.

"No, I'm here to inform that the big boss wants to see all of us, right now," Jack replied and he rode on with the wind.

Pitch looked up at Grace's window and then got on Erebos and they headed off towards the moon.

()()()()()()()

*For this part, I want you to visualize it as the third class party scene from the movie, _Titanic _(1997).


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Pitch, Erebos, and Jack had arrived at the white marble courthouse on the moon, where they met with the other guardians.

They waited for their master to appear, but they exchanged whispers of concern.

"What do you think he'll tell us?" Bunnymund asked, but Sandy gave no response and a question mark formed at the top of his head.

Finally, the Man in the Moon appeared and sat down at his marble white throne and everyone hushed.

"My fellow guardians," he spoke in a mighty voice, "I have some disturbing news. Our greatest enemy has returned after many centuries of being dormant."

There was confusion in the air and Jack asks, "It can't be Pitch, he's right here."

The boogeyman gave him a look, but didn't speak and their master replies, "It is Mora."

Then, the whole courtroom gasped in horror and surprise. Pitch at first thought it was a joke, but his master never lied, and the terror inside sunk in.

"Who is Mora?" Jack asked and everyone stared at him.

"I'll tell him," Pitch volunteered and says to Jack, "Mora is, what we call her, the queen of night terrors. Jack, have you ever had dreams where they are so horrifying that they seem real?"

Jack shook his head and Pitch continues, "Mora enjoys spreading the fear in children when they sleep. Sometimes, the night terrors are so horrifying that some children never go back to sleep."

The Man in the Moon looks at Pitch, as if to say "Tell him more."

"Well, Mora and I were once partners," the boogeyman added. "But that changed when our master chose the guardians to spread hope and over time, the children had forgotten Mora. However, she never stopped in sending the night terrors to haunt the children."

"But why aren't you with her now?" Jack asked, again.

Pitch decided to tell the truth, "She was banished to the deepest parts in the earth and you could say that I had forgotten her. I thought she was dead."

The Man in the Moon rose up from his throne and everyone looked at him.

"I have called all of you here to tell you that you must keep an extra close eye out for the night terrors. Pitch," the god said to the boogeyman, "You need to protect Grace. I believe that Mora knows of your duty to watch over her and she will do anything to terrorize Grace and her dreams."

Pitch felt a stinging sensation in his heart, it was fear. He did not want Mora to do anything that would hurt Grace, but as his master said, Mora would do anything to terrorize the girl.

"If you do defeat Mora, she will always come back," the god warned. "Be brave my guardians, I will be watching over you. Dismissed," he added and everyone headed back to Earth.

Pitch went back to Erebos, who had been waiting outside, but he knew what had happened inside. "I need your help in protecting Grace," the boogeyman said and the Pegasus nodded.

The two headed on back to Blackpool and Pitch began to pray that Mora's night terrors would not harm Grace in any way.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Christmas and New Year's came and went; however, the guardians did not celebrate as they went on with their duty of protecting the children from Mora's night terrors.

Pitch refused to let Grace out of his sight, as he feared that the night terrors might come and take her.

The new school semester was to begin in three days and Grace had prepared herself for the new term.

One night, she could not get to sleep and Pitch visited her in her room. "You need to rest," he said, but Grace shook her head.

"I can't sleep, I'm not tired," she replied.

Pitch looked at her, but didn't speak. Ever since the night of the Christmas party, a new feeling had bloomed inside him. He had come to realize that he truly cared for Grace, perhaps to the point that he loved her as a friend or something more.

"You know," Grace said to Pitch, "I had never seen the ocean cliffs. Could we go for a quick visit?" she asked.

Pitch did not know what to think; he sensed that it would be dangerous for Grace to be out this late. However, he could not refuse.

"Just have Erebos fly over them, no need to stay there," Grace added and Pitch nodded.

They quietly left the house and got on the black Pegasus. It was a cold night, snow had blanketed the land the other day, but the sky was clear with a bright moon and sparkling stars.

Erebos went airborne and he flew towards the coast. They passed over the city of Blackpool and headed up towards the cliffs.

In the shadows, however, the night terrors had spotted them and they followed them.

Erebos picked his ears up and snorted. "Erebos, what is it?" Pitch asked, but the Pegasus flew downward toward land.

Once he landed, Pitch and Grace got off and Erebos started to stomp his hooves, flapped his wings, and screamed a few times.

"Erebos, easy, what is it?" Pitch asked, trying to calm the Pegasus down.

Grace took a few steps back, but suddenly, something grabbed her, covering her mouth, and pulled her away into the darkness.

Erebos noticed Grace being taken and Pitch looked back. Staring back was a black sand night terror in the form of a dog.

"Where's Grace?!" he ordered and charged at the beast, but the night terror vanished.

Grace was being pulled and tugged by black sand monkeys and they played with her.

"Let me go! Please!" she begged and Pitch heard her cries.

"Leave her alone, you buffoons!" he shouted, just as a large black sand bird arrived, taking Grace with it.

The monkeys began to play with the boogeyman and Erebos, but Pitch fought back, and he got on the Pegasus and they went after the bird.

"Pitch!" Grace called out, stretching out her hands toward him.

Suddenly, Pitch and Erebos were attacked by little black sand birds and they peeked at them.

Then, one bird hit Erebos in the eye, and the Pegasus cried out in pain. He tossed about and Pitch was losing his grip on Erebos.

Erebos then hit the side of a cliff and he and his rider fell towards the bottom.

"Pitch!" Grace screamed and the bird took her deep into the night.

Erebos was the first to get up; he wasn't hurt, as he and Pitch were immune to mortal injuries, and the Pegasus nudged at him.

Pitch got up, rubbing the side of his head, but he realized that Grace was gone.

"Grace!" he called, but no answer.

Then, a stream of golden sand appeared and Pitch looked around, he knew that Sandy must be nearby.

"Pitch?" someone said and the boogeyman turned to see Jack Frost.

"Jack! Thank heavens you're here!" Pitch exclaimed.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"It was the night terrors. They attacked us and took Grace. They must be—" "Wait, wait! They took Grace?!" Jack interrupted and Pitch nodded.

"Where did they take her?" Jack demanded.

"I know they would take her to Mora, but I have no idea where her realm is," Pitch replied and Jack looked angry.

Then, Sandy arrived and he showed them a black sand monkey. "Sandy! Thank you!" Pitch exclaimed and took the night terror.

"Where is your mistress? Where did they take Grace?" he demanded, but the creature refused to speak.

"Do you want me to squeeze the life out of you?" Pitch asked, again, and began to choke the monkey.

The creature finally gave word of where to find the entrance to Mora's home. "We're taking you with us, just to be sure you're not playing tricks," Pitch said and got on Erebos.

Jack, Sandy, and Erebos flew off to find Mora and save Grace.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Deep in the earth, Mora was being entertained by some of the night terrors and waited for the others to return with the prize.

Then, the big black sand bird flew in and dropped Grace close to Mora's throne.

"So, this is the girl?" the night goddess asked and the bird nodded.

Grace looked up at Mora and asks, "Who are you?"

Mora's image melted into the shadows and reappeared behind her and Grace jumped in surprise.

"You don't know me? I am the queen of the night terrors and the name's Mora," the female spirit said.

"Why am I here? What do you want with me?" Grace asked, her heart pounding.

"I wanted to meet you, I heard that Pitch is watching over you, like a guardian to a child," Mora answered. "As a matter of fact, he and I were once a couple. Very much in love."

Grace shook her head and Mora could sense her fear. "Oh, you don't believe me. Well, has Pitch told you anything about his past life? Before meeting you?" Mora asked and then, black sand looped around Grace's hands, binding her. The sand then formed into snakes and they hissed at Grace and she gasped.

Meanwhile, Jack, Sandy, Pitch, and Erebos found the opening to Mora's underground home.

The black sand monkey tried to escape, but Sandy grabbed it by the tail and transformed it into three golden butterflies.

Erebos stayed at the entrance, while the three male spirits went down into the dark earth. They went through a maze of debris and tree roots and found an opening that lead to the throne room.

Pitch was the first to spot Grace and then, he saw Mora. The goddess was taunting the girl and Pitch could hear Mora say, "Do you want to know what Pitch did? And why he was chosen to be your guardian?"

Grace was curious, but she felt that the dark goddess would tell her nothing but lies.

"He and I, before the world knew Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny. Pitch and I enjoyed spreading fear to children and that's what they believed in, the boogeyman and the queen of night terrors.

"Well, all that changed when the Man in the Moon chose the guardians and they brought joy and hope to the children. Then, they stopped believing in us and Pitch and I were invisible to the world," Mora explained and Grace did not know what to say.

"And then, I did something that the big boss did not like. He sent me to live down here and I never saw Pitch, again, but for a short time, he believed that I was alive. Then that feeling went away. However, a few months ago, he did something, do you want to know what he did?" Mora asked Grace and Pitch knew right away what she was planning to tell the girl.

"We can't sit here forever," he said to the others and they nodded. Pitch pointed out a path that lead to the throne and Jack and Sandy headed down there.

"Pitch led a rebellion against the guardians, he wanted the children to believe in him and forget the others. As a matter of fact, he killed the Sand Man," Mora said and Grace's head shot up.

"You're lying! Sandy is alive!" Grace shouted.

"Oh, yes he is, but he came back to life because the boogeyman got scared of the guardians. However, the Man in the Moon gave Pitch another chance and the big boss assigned him to watch over you, but when Pitch is done, he will forget you, just like he did to me," Mora replied, but Grace didn't believe her.

"You can't block out the truth, little Gracie. Just ask Pitch, but he will try to deny it," the goddess added, but Grace shook her head.

"No, no, no! You're lying!" she cried out.

"Has a goddess lied to anyone before?" Mora asked and was about to say more, when a voice called out.

"I believe that's enough, Mora," Pitch said and Mora and Grace spotted him, walking upside down on the rocky ceiling.

"Pitch, is it really you?!" Mora exclaimed and Pitch disappeared behind a rocky pillar.

"I am here," he answered after reappearing from behind Mora's throne. "I must say, you've outdone yourself. You've mastered the night terrors, much better than my nightmares," Pitch added.

Mora threw her arms around him in a loving embrace. "Why did you leave me?" she asked.

"You were not the only banished into the deepest part of the earth. I'm sorry, but I had to wait to strike back," Pitch answered. "Once the world knew fear, again, I was planning to raise up out of this hole."

Grace could not believe what she was hearing; at first, she thought Pitch lost his mind and was rambling on with lies. Then again, she had listened to what Mora had said.

Then, she noticed Jack and Sandy crawling up to her. Sandy pressed a finger to his lips and Grace showed the snake-like chain around her wrists.

"I could not stop thinking about you for the last few centuries," Mora said to Pitch.

The boogeyman gave a quick look at Grace and noticed Jack and Sandy. Pitch gave a quick wink at Grace and she smiled.

"You know, I thought you were dead, but deep down, I knew that you were somehow alive," he replied and moved a strain of Mora's hair behind her ear.

Jack quietly moved his staff at the snake chains, hoping to freeze them, but suddenly, they hissed. Mora heard it and turned around and saw the two guardians. "You!" she shouted and shot black sand at them, but missed.

Pitch grabbed Mora and pushed her aside. Jack quickly froze the snake chains and they fell off. Pitch scooped Grace in his arms and they charged passed the night terrors. Jack froze some of them with his staff, while Sandy transformed them to golden sand with his touch.

"Get them!" Mora shouted and she summoned a night terror in the form of a bear.

The night terror went after the four as they headed for the entrance. When they got there, Jack and Sandy had floated up, but they had to help Pitch and Grace up. Pitch could not get up while he had Grace in his arms and he placed her down. Jack helped Pitch up to the hole with his staff and they turned their attention to Grace.

"Grace, you're going have to jump!" Pitch called to her.

The girl heard a noise and turned to see the night terror bear, charging at her. Without another thought, Grace took a big leap, stretching her hands toward Pitch.

She grabbed his hand, but she started to slip. Jack took her other arm and helped her up and out of the hole. The bear was about to reach them, when Jack slammed his staff and a thick sheet of ice covered the hole and they hurried away with Erebos.

The night terrors were unable to get through the ice, but Mora sent them away. She was thinking about what she saw. Pitch had taken the girl in his arms like he was saving a child. Then, it hit her; Pitch must love this girl.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The three male spirits, Erebos, and Grace flew back to the Dawson house, where the girl would be kept under guard.

Grace was in a state of confusion; she did not want to believe what Mora said about Pitch, but she wanted to know the truth.

"Grace, are you all right?" Pitch asked, "She did not hurt you did she?"

"Pitch, did you really kill Sandy?" she replied.

The Sand Man looked at the two, but didn't say anything. Pitch decided to come clean, "Yes, it's true."

"And what about the other things Mora told me about? Did you really do all that?" Grace asked, again.

Pitch nodded and Grace turned away from him.

When they arrived at her place, Grace did not wait for Pitch to help her down. Instead, she jumped off and ran inside, locking the front door.

Erebos nudged at Pitch and he went up to the girl's room, where Grace sat on her bed with Canaletto and Constable. She turned her face away from him and Pitch went down on his knees.

"Grace, I know you believe that I am good, but it never occurred to me that someone like you would believe that until I met you. Ever since the Dark Ages, every child believed that I was evil because I spread fear and despair.

"For a long time, I wanted to be believed in, but I also wanted to be admired. However, I wanted the other guardians to feel what I felt and that's why I rebelled against them and my master," Pitch explained and continued.

"Now, I realize that if one child believes and admires me, than it will be enough, but when you told your friends that I am good, I never felt so believed in before."

Grace had listened to him the entire time and wanted to hear more.

"If you want to stop believing in me, that will be fine, but just to let you know, I will always care about you and I will keep on protecting you from the night terrors. However, I hope that you can forgive me for being such an idiot," Pitch said and finished talking.

Grace then took his hand and says, "I forgive you, but you have to promise me something. No more holding back the truth and never lie to me."

Pitch nodded and says, "I cross my heart and hope to be snuffed out of existence."

Grace giggled, but then yawned and laid down on her bed. Pitch placed a blanket over her and the two cats curled up beside their mistress.

He waited for the golden sand to appear above her head and when it did, the sand took the form of two people dancing.

Pitch looked around the room, hoping no one would notice in what he was about to do. He leaned in and kissed Grace's cheek. "One more thing," he whispered, "I will always love you."

Pitch left the room and returned outside, where Erebos, Jack, and Sandy were waiting. "I want to thank you for helping Grace," he said.

Jack and Sandy nodded and sand appeared atop Sandy's head. It formed a dove with an olive branch and Pitch knew that was the sign of peace, but it also stood for forgiveness.

"You forgive me?" he said and Sandy nodded. "Thank you," Pitch added.

Jack stretched out his hand and Pitch shook it, "I forgive you, too," Jack said.

The winter spirit rode away with the wind and the Sand Man floated away on a golden cloud. Pitch got on Erebos and the Pegasus flew above the house and Pitch released a small black cloud of nightmares. Instead of looking for bad children, Pitch had them guard the Dawson house against Mora's night terrors.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Blackpool and the rest of the United Kingdom rose up from the winter slumber when the first day of spring arrived.

Easter was on its way, but Jack Frost still had some playtime left in the city of Blackpool.

Pitch, on the other hand, kept watch for Mora's night terrors, but he and his nightmares have not located any since the night Grace was kidnapped.

Grace went on to her new semester at the art school and she and her parents planned a visit to the University of Art in London after Easter.

On the night before Easter day, Bunnymund visited the Dawson's home and left some colored eggs as a gift for Grace.

At first, Pitch's nightmares mistook Bunnymund as a night terror and were about to attack him. Pitch, however, protected the Easter Bunny from his creatures.

"Just to let you know, I still won't forgive you," the Easter Bunny said and left the boogeyman.

On Easter morning, Grace discovered the eggs and kept them, thanking Bunnymund in her mind.

The next day, the Dawson's left the house very early, just as the sun was rising. The trip was long; it took about four hours from Blackpool to London. Grace had looked out the car window the entire time; she had watched Pitch and Erebos fly beside the car.

When they arrived in the British capital, it was close to lunch time, but they drove straight to the university.

They were greeted personally by the headmaster and he showed Grace and her parents around the buildings. Pitch had followed behind, but kept a distance away from the Dawson's. However, he knew that he was not the only one watching them.

Protective instincts kicked in and Pitch looked around and so did Erebos.

"So this is the place?" a voice said, causing Pitch to jump in surprise.

"Jack! Don't do that," Pitch replied when he saw the winter spirit walking on a branch of a tree.

"I would never be an art student, it's too boring," Jack said and that made Pitch angry, but he didn't say anything.

They watched Grace and her parents tour the grounds of the university and a few hours later, the Dawson's thanked Mr. Dundee and left.

Pitch, Erebos, and Jack followed them all the way back to Blackpool. It was very late when they got back and Grace was very tired and she went to bed.

"Pitch," Jack said to the boogeyman, "The big boss has decided to re-commence the court for tomorrow, just be prepared."

"Prepared for what?" Pitch asked, but Jack didn't answer and he rode away with the wind.

Pitch felt uncertain of what tomorrow will bring. He did not want to leave Grace, not even for a minute, but he had to obey his master.

By the next morning, Pitch and Erebos headed on out towards the moon.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Pitch was back in the courtroom and he was led to the front where he would face his master.

The guardians watched as the Man in the Moon appeared and stared at Pitch.

"Pitch Black," the god said in his mighty voice. "I have decided to have your sentence end today. As of now, you are a guardian."

The courtroom erupted in claps and cheers, but their master held up his hands to silence them and they hushed.

"You are the guardian of Halloween and nightmares. Every year on Halloween night, you are to make this one night alive with frights and fears. Also, you are to release your nightmares to children who have shown disrespect towards others every night when they go to sleep," the Man in the Moon informed Pitch. "But there is another duty you must do," the god added.

"Mora is still alive and she will do her best to haunt children's dreams with night terrors. Protect them and destroy the night terrors," he said.

"What about Grace?" Pitch asked. His master looked at him and he replies.

"Continue in your duty of protecting her, but I must tell you to limit your time with her," the god answered. Pitch's heart stopped beating for a minute; he had been given a certain amount of time to be with Grace.

"I have realized that you have grown quite close to her. I advise you to keep some distance from Grace. If Mora kidnaps Grace, again, Mora might kill her without another thought," the Man in the Moon said.

Pitch wanted to say something, but he was at a loss for words. He agreed with his master that Grace needed to be protected, but he did not want to stop visiting her.

Then, Erebos came beside Pitch and nudged at him.

"I have decided to let you have Erebos as a guide to your destinations. Take care of him and he will take care of you," the Man in the Moon said to Pitch and the guardians were dismissed.

Pitch was not sure how to explain to Grace that he could not see her as much, but he had to tell her.

He got on Erebos and they returned to Blackpool and headed to Grace's home.

The girl was still asleep and Pitch gently shook her awake. "Pitch, I had the most wonderful dream," she said, but she noticed the sad look on his face. "What's the matter?"

"I have been made guardian," Pitch replied and Grace congratulated him. "Unfortunately, my master told me that I can't see you as much as before," he added and Grace's face changed.

"But I like spending time with you," she said.

"I do, too, but my master fears that Mora will come back and kill you and that will be a horrible blow to my heart," Pitch replied. "But don't worry, I'll always be near," he added.

Grace put on the best smile, but she was upset that she won't see Pitch as much anymore. However, she wanted to know about what Pitch meant about the horrible blow to his heart if she were to be killed by Mora. He did say that he cared about her.

"I have to go, good night Grace," Pitch said and he left her room.

Grace did not say a word, but she had a feeling growing inside. She immediately realized that she really cared for him, too.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

_7 years later_

The years had passed and the holidays had come and gone. Grace had grown up to be a beautiful red-haired, eighteen year old. Most people at her age usually stopped believing in Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, and the other holiday figures, but not her.

Grace had moved on and was now living in London, attending classes at the University of Art and she got a job as a caretaker at a private art gallery.

For the pass seven years, she had created beautiful charcoal drawings of landscapes and fantasy creatures, including the guardians, but especially that of Pitch and Erebos.

Since she arrived at the university, the headmaster had asked her to display her latest pieces in the charcoal gallery. The other students would admire her work of the boogeyman and his Pegasus, but they didn't believe he existed.

When Grace spent her first Christmas in London, she stayed in her apartment, and she was not sure if North would come and visit. He did and left Grace a lot of gifts, causing her classmates to feel jealous.

The same went for Easter. Bunnymund visited Grace and left her colored eggs. However, Grace caught him before he left. "Bunnymund, I need to tell you something," she said, "But you need to keep this a secret."

"I'm good in keeping secrets sheila," he said in his Australian accent.

Grace whispered something in Bunnymund's long ear and he looked surprised when she was finished. "Oh sheila, you mean it?" he asked and she nodded.

"You also have to promise to not tell this to anyone, only if my life or Pitch's life is in danger," Grace replied and Bunnymund nodded.

"Don't worry sheila, nothing bad's going to happen," he said and he went on his way.

Sandy also visited the young woman and gave her good dreams when she slept.

Grace still believed in the tooth fairy, despite having lost her last baby tooth when she turned thirteen. She also didn't lose faith in Jack Frost, as he would bring the coldest winters just for Grace to enjoy.

As for Pitch, he carried on with his duty of bringing Halloween to life by illuminating Jack-o-lanterns, releasing the spirits of the dead for the mortals to see, and giving the children a good scare.

The children believed in his existence, but for those who were always good, believed he only punished those who have been bad, and they admired him.

Pitch stayed true to his master's word of limiting his time with Grace, but when he saw Grace growing up, he could not ignore the feeling anymore. He realized that he had fallen in love with Grace.

However, he had the sense of fear that Mora would come back and take Grace. He also feared that the other guardians would not accept his love for a mortal girl.

For the pass seven years, Pitch and the guardians had not heard of anything about Mora, but they had fought against the night terrors.

Now it was a few days after Halloween and Jack Frost brought in chilly weather to London. Grace, at times, did not like the sudden change.

It was night time and Grace was still awake and she been drawing a new sketch of Pitch, but she had added herself in it.

In the drawing, Pitch held Grace in a loving embrace, as he was comforting her, but she was not finished in drawing her arms around him.

Then, the real Pitch entered her room and Grace was happy to see him.

"How was your Halloween?" he asked.

"A lot of fun, but I had been thinking of you the entire time," Grace replied.

Pitch than noticed the drawing and he could not stop staring at it.

"Did you just finish that?" he asked and she shook her head. "You best keep it hidden," he advised.

"Hidden? From whom?" Grace asked.

"Everyone, especially the guardians," Pitch answered.

"Why?" Grace asked, again.

"Please Grace, don't ask me so many questions," he replied.

"No, why do you want me to hide this? It's just a drawing," Grace said, but Pitch stared at her.

"If the guardians saw that, then they will get the idea that I…" he trailed off.

"You what? What will the guardians think? Pitch, please tell me," Grace demanded.

"I am not going to say it. What if a night terror is listening in on us?" Pitch asked.

"Mora is not here, we have not heard from her for seven years. Why can't you tell me?" Grace said, now on the verge of getting irritated.

"Enough Grace," Pitch answered and decided to leave, but she stopped him.

"Pitch, you're afraid of something, you have to tell me what it is," she demanded once more.

"I said enough!" Pitch shouted and hit Grace with the back of his hand. Grace fell back, rubbing her cheek, and she looked at Pitch in surprise. Pitch also stared back, but in shock, he regretted in hitting her.

"Grace, I'm-" "Get out!" she cut him off.

"Grace listen, I didn't mean-" "I said get out!" she shouted. Pitch did not want to leave her, but she was upset and angry at him, and he left the apartment.

"I did something real stupid Erebos," he said to the Pegasus. Erebos snorted and Pitch nodded. "I know, but what if she doesn't accept my apology? I need to talk to someone," he said and got on Erebos and they flew away, heading north.

Back inside Grace's apartment, the girl stared at the drawing she had been working on. Tears fell from her eyes and she felt stupid for crying. Without another thought, she tore the drawing out of the sketchbook, crumbling it and then opened a window, and threw it out.

Something came out of the shadows, a night terror in the form of a monkey. It took the crumbled paper and opened it and stared at the drawing. It knew right away that this was important and it decided to take it to its mistress.

In her lair, Mora had spent the pass seven years lying low, and planning. Then, the monkey night terror came up to her. "What is it?" she asked, feeling annoyed.

It showed the drawing to her and she took it. "Is that Pitch?" Mora asked, but she knew the answer. She looked at the drawing more closely and noticed that the girl's faintly drawn arms around Pitch.

"So, this Grace does have a weakness," Mora said and an idea came to her head.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**Warning: **This chapter has a death scene.

* * *

Pitch and Erebos arrived in North's domain and the boogeyman went inside the workshop. The yetis were hard at work preparing for Christmas later that year. Pitch located the jolly man in his private room, where North had been talking to Jack Frost.

"Oh good, you're here, too," Pitch said upon entering.

"Pitch, what are you doing here?" North asked.

"I did something real stupid," the boogeyman answered and explained in what had happened in Grace's apartment. However, he did not tell them of his feelings for Grace, as North knew the law.

A guardian cannot love a mortal, otherwise they will be snuffed out of existence. Pitch feared this, but he believed that the other guardians would not accept his love for Grace.

"I say, you go back and apologize," Jack said.

"But what if she doesn't accept?" Pitch asked. Jack and North began to think and the jolly man chuckles.

"You know, I say we go along with you, just offer you some support," North replies.

"I like that idea," Pitch said and they returned outside, where Erebos was waiting. Some yetis had been petting the black steed and they had brought out North's sleigh.

"Why is my heart pounding so much?" Pitch asked.

"You're not nervous of a girl are you?" Jack questioned, but Pitch shook his head.

"Now Pitch, if Grace does not accept your apology, come back later and try, again. She just needs some time to think," North said and Pitch nods.

The guardians were about to head out, when Pitch stopped and turned Erebos around. "I just need some time to calm down a bit, I'll be back," he said and he took Erebos and they went away.

"Pitch is acting a little strange, don't you think?" Jack asked North, but he just shrugged.

Then, one of the yetis shrieked and the two guardians turned to see a black sand horse night terror. Someone got off its back, it was Mora!

"Jack Frost! North! I'm glad I found you," the goddess exclaimed.

"You!" Jack shouted, angrily.

"Now, now, I come alone, and in peace," Mora said, but suddenly, Jack threw ice-balls at her and North pulled out his swords.

"You have no idea how much we like to beat the living day-lights out of you!" Jack shouted and used his staff to form a sheet of ice under Mora's feet. She slipped and she cries out, "Please! Please! Don't hurt me!"

"What do you want, Mora?" North asked and said something in Russian.

"I just want to talk to you. I have some disturbing news about Pitch," Mora said.

"All you're going to say is lies," Jack replied and his staff was inches away from her face.

"Just wait, look at this," the goddess said and held up the drawing.

"What is this?" Jack asked, taking the drawing.

"Is that Grace's drawing?" North replied and took it.

"What do you think?" Mora asked them. The two looked it over; there was no doubt in their minds that the drawing had been created by Grace.

"What is Pitch doing?" Jack asked, again.

"Look more closely," Mora replied and they noticed Grace's faintly drawn hands around Pitch's neck. It was as if they were sharing a loving embrace.

"Now, you may think that this is a cruel joke, but I discovered it and I thought you should know what is going on between Pitch and Grace," Mora said to them.

"Oh, so they are in love?" Jack asked, "What's wrong with that?"

"It is very wrong for a guardian to love a mortal. The Man in the Moon had made that the law a long time before he chose you, Jack Frost," Mora explained and continues, "If the big boss found out that Pitch and Grace love each other, he will destroy Pitch and eventually, Grace will forget about him."

"You don't know that could happen," Jack replied, bitterly.

"And if it does?" Mora asked.

Jack and North were confused in what they should do. They did not want Pitch to die at the hands of their master as Pitch was doing a wonderful job with Halloween and controlling his nightmares.

"I know it's very tough, but everyone has to make the toughest of decisions, including the guardians. I don't want anything to happen to Pitch. So, can I trust you in talking some sense into him?" Mora asked.

Jack and North nodded and Mora got back on her black sand horse. "I'll give you some time alone," she said and turned her horse around. When she was far enough away, Mora placed a sleeve over her mouth and grimly smiled.

Jack and North looked at each other, they knew what they had to do and Jack hid Grace's drawing in his hoodie pocket

Pitch and Erebos came back. "Now, I'm feeling more confident," the boogeyman said and checked Erebos' saddle.

"Pitch, we need to talk," Jack said to him.

"Can it wait until later? I really want to apologize to Grace," Pitch replied.

"Who cares about the apology? Maybe Grace will forgive you, eventually," Jack said, again.

"Jack, I would rather exchange words than wait for forgiveness," Pitch replied and Jack took a deep breath.

"Well, I'm trying to say that maybe you should not apologize to Grace," the winter spirit said.

"Uh, may I speak to Jack Frost? The real Jack Frost?" Pitch said in a joking matter.

"Jack, let me speak," North cut in and he says, "What he is trying to say, Pitch is that you can't see Grace anymore."

"What? Why would you...?" Pitch trailed off when he spotted something in Jack's pocket and he took it. He stared at Grace's drawing and a wave of confusion and anger filled his senses. "Where did you get this?" he demanded.

"Pitch, we're going to be straight with you. We just talked with Mora-" "What?! Mora?!" Pitch cut Jack off, "You talked to her behind my back?!"

"Pitch, listen, you don't understand," Jack replied, but Pitch threw a snowball at him.

"No, I understand plenty, you traitors!" the boogeyman shouted. "And I don't need your help! I can do this myself!" he added and was about to get on Erebos.

"No, you can't!" Jack said and he and North grabbed Pitch and pulled him away from the Pegasus.

"Listen, the big boss will kill you if he found out that you are in love with Grace," Jack told Pitch.

"You're lying!" the boogeyman shouted and struggled to get free.

North said something to the yetis and they held down Pitch. "Let me go!" he shouted.

"I'm sorry Pitch, but this is for your own good," North replied and had some of the other yetis hold Erebos' reigns.

"Wait, wait, what are you doing?" Pitch asked, his concern grew.

Then, North took out his swords and prepared himself to strike the Pegasus.

"No! No! NO!" Pitch cried out, but it was too late. North dug one sword into Erebos' shoulder and the steed fell to the ground, blood stained the snow, and Erebos wailed in agony.

"North, stop it! Leave him alone!" Pitch screamed as North continued to stab the Pegasus until Erebos did not move any longer.

Pitch began to sob and he came to the dead Pegasus' side and tears fell from the boogeyman's eyes. He turns to look at North and says, "They say it's easy to break a man's heart. You just shattered mine."

North and Jack did not say a word and they watched as Pitch ran off toward the ice caves.

The two guardians covered Erebos' corpse with North's coat and they went back into the workshop.

* * *

*From the author: I know, I know, I'm horrible! I could not think of anything else for the story. However, I'll give you some advice: Believe as hard as you can that Erebos will come back to life.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

In London, Grace awoke from a sleepless slumber and began to walk around her apartment. She was starting to regret in kicking Pitch out.

Deep down in her mind, a question began to form. "What if Pitch is in love with me?" she asked herself.

Surely Pitch was trying to protect her, but why? Mora was the biggest threat Grace can think of, but Grace began to ask herself, "What if the Man in the Moon does not approve of our love?"

She really wanted to know why Pitch's master would not accept their love and a theory came to her head.

The guardians did not show themselves when they were on duty, they only came out at night when the children are asleep. If a child was lucky in spotting a guardian, their parents would suggest something else, like a dream.

The children knew of the guardians' existence because they left gifts behind and they listened to people's stories.

Grace nodded her head with this theory, but she still wanted to know why the guardians' master, the Man in the Moon would not let them love mortals.

Before she could think of anything, Grace heard something in the living room of her apartment.

She took an umbrella, as it was the only thing she could use as a weapon, and quietly went down the hall and into the living room.

She turned on the switch, but no lights came on. Instead, the lights on the ceiling crackled and sparkled and they died out.

Grace knew that someone or something was in the room. Her heart pounded so hard and loud that she thought it would burst.

Something brushed passed her and she gasped in terror. Suddenly, something grabbed her by the ankles and it pulled on her and she collapsed. Grace tried to scream, but something covered her mouth and then, the night terrors showed themselves.

They held her upright and then, someone came out of the darkness, it was Mora.

"Well, well, it's a pleasure to meet you, again," she said in a cold voice.

Grace wanted to believe that this was nothing but a bad dream, but it wasn't.

"Too bad Pitch is not here to save you and I'm afraid he won't be able to," Mora added.

Then, she and the night terrors left the apartment, taking Grace with them.

During the flight, Grace spotted a stream of golden sand and she knew that Sandy must be around.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind if I talk to your friend, the Sand Man," Mora said while she rode on the big black sand bird.

Up on a golden cloud, Sandy spotted the night terrors and braced for impact. The night terrors surrounded him and he prepared himself to fight.

"Now, now, Sandy," Mora said and appeared in front of him, "I don't think it's a good idea to fight," she added and she featured Grace to him.

Sandy gave a surprised look, but then featured anger toward Mora.

"I have a message for you to send to the guardians and Pitch," the goddess said to him, "If Pitch wishes to see the girl alive, tell him to come to my northern domain."

Then, Mora, the night terrors, and Grace flew away from the Sand Man.

Sandy was now unsure if he should go after them and save Grace himself, but he would need help.

He then created his signal to the guardians; golden waves appeared in the sky, much like North's northern lights and the waves headed for North's home.

North and Jack saw this and North sent out his signal.

Tooth and some of her assistants headed out to the North Pole and so did Bunnymund.

In the ice caves, Pitch saw the lights and he too went on his way.

When the six of them came together in North's home, Sandy tried to tell them through a series of sand above his head, but no one understood him.

"Sandy, no offence, but we don't understand you," Jack said.

The Sand Man took it slowly and featured one sandy picture at a time, starting with Grace. Then, he featured Mora and the night terrors.

Pitch's heart stopped beating when he realized what Sandy was telling them.

"Mora has got Grace!" he told the others and Sandy showed more.

He featured some icicles and Mora and Pitch knew what that meant.

"She's in Mora's northern domain!" he replied.

Jack and North looked at each other and that's when they realized something. "She tricked us!" the winter spirit shouted, slamming his staff to the ground.

"That's another reason why I left Mora, she is a good liar," Pitch said and then descended down the stairs.

"Whoa, where are you going?" Jack asked, floating in front of the boogeyman.

"I'm going to save Grace and I can do this myself," Pitch answered.

"What if it's another trick?" Tooth asked.

"I don't care, I'm going to finish this," he replied and he looked up at the moon.

"Old friend, I need your magic just this once, take me to Mora's domain," Pitch prayed aloud.

"Pitch, don't do this! Mora will kill Grace! And maybe you!" Jack begged.

"If Mora does kill me, then it's a sacrifice I am willing to make," the boogeyman replied.

Then, Pitch's form dissolved into black sand and he became a shadow. He floated away from the guardians and out of North's workshop.

"I don't like this North; I'm going after him," Bunnymund said, "I just hope my tunnels led to Mora's place."

Just then, a howling wind was heard and Jack looked up to see snow and ice slamming against the windows.

"Jack, are you doing that?" Tooth asked.

"No, but I have a feeling that Mora is behind it," the winter spirit replied.

"We better get going," North said to them.

Bunnymund tapped on the ground and a hole appeared. Sandy floated in front of the Easter Bunny, "You coming, mate?" he asked and Sandy nodded. "You better keep up," Bunnymund said and they disappeared down the hole.

North, Jack, and Tooth got into North's sleigh and they headed out to find Grace and Pitch.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Deep within the cold earth, in Mora's northern domain, the night terror goddess walked around the black fireplace. She never used it as she hated the warmth, but she wanted to keep Grace alive, long enough for Pitch to come.

Mora's plan was to negotiate with Pitch; she will release Grace once Pitch denounces his love for the girl. If the boogeyman refused, Mora will slit Grace's throat and Mora will enjoy watching Pitch's misery and heartbreak.

Grace sat next to the fireplace, bound with black sand binds, and the fire was burning behind her.

"Please, let me go," the girl begged.

"I don't think so," Mora replied, "I'm going to enjoy every minute of talking to Pitch."

Grace was not sure what she should do, her back was burning from the heat of the fire, and she could hear the popping of the wood.

Then, a piece of wood popped and an ember flew out and hit Grace's exposed arm. She winced in pain, but then, an idea came to her head.

She lowered the binds to the ember, they burned and they melted. Grace kept her hands behind her back until Mora was distracted and not looking at her.

Then, one of the night terror monkeys began to fight with another. "That's enough!" Mora ordered, but they didn't obey and they continued to fight. Mora got up and broke up the fight.

In a flash, Grace sprang to her feet and ran toward the entrance of the cave. "Stop her!" Mora shouted and the night terrors went after the girl.

When Grace made it to the entrance, she was hit by a cold wind, but she ignored it and went out into the storm.

The night terrors stopped in their tracks, having lost sight of the girl.

Some of them spoke to their mistress. "No, I have a better idea," Mora said and she summoned some black sand, forming it into a dagger.

"I hope I can still change," she replied as black sand surrounded her and her form began to change.

Mora's hair changed from black to curly red, her eyes became hazel green, and her skin became peach pink.

"Perfect," the goddess said upon the finished transformation, but she coughed and says once more, this time in her best Grace voice, "Perfect."

Now Mora had to wait for Pitch to come, much like a predator waiting for its prey to come into the trap.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Pitch had arrived to the entrance of Mora's cave and he could sense that the evil goddess would not let Grace go without a fight.

Using the black sand that had not been used yet, Pitch created his signature axe/scythe weapon and went down into the hole.

During his descent, everything inside Pitch screamed at him to not go any further, but he ignored it.

When he got to the bottom, there were no night terrors, the place was empty. At first, Pitch thought he was tricked, until a voice calls out, "Pitch?"

"Grace?" he called back.

"Pitch!" the girl exclaimed after emerging from behind a boulder.

The boogeyman dropped his weapon and it dissolved into sand and he rushed toward the girl. He threw his arms around her, "Are you all right?" he asked, feeling grateful.

"I am," Grace answered, but then, her voice changed, "But you're not."

Suddenly, Pitch felt something pierce through him and a wave of pain shot through him. He took a few steps back, cradling his side, and then looked at his bloody hand. He then looked at Grace, but her features dissolved to feature Mora.

"You!" Pitch cried out. He wanted to attack her, but Pitch fell to his knees; he now realized that Mora had stabbed him.

"Oh, I knew that you would do anything to save that little twerp," the goddess said and wiped off the bloody dagger.

"Where's…Grace…?" Pitch demanded, trying to battle the pain.

"Oh, I don't know. I was planning to negotiate on her release, that is, if you denounce your love for her," Mora said, "But just a few moments ago, she just vanished. It seems that she doesn't want to be rescued, by you that."

Pitch refused to believe her, but he could sense that Grace was still alive, and maybe she was outside in the storm.

Then he started to feel strange; it felt as if ice was flowing in his veins and he saw the blood on his hands turning black.

"What…did you…do…to me?" he demanded.

"You're going to love this," Mora said and showed him the dagger, "This is my special dagger, it has a wonderful poison. You, your friends, and I are immortal, but with this dagger, the poison spreads throughout your body, turning your heart and then your whole body into stone."

"What…?" Pitch asked.

"But don't worry, it takes time. Once you have turned into a stone statue, the children of the world will come to realize that the boogeyman will not haunt them with nightmares anymore," Mora replied and adds, "I on the other hand will love you for all eternity and will display you in my realm."

"You…witch…" Pitch breathed out the words.

"Now that's not a nice thing to say," Mora said.

"Go to…hell…" Pitch replied.

Mora was about to say something, when a night terror came up to her and whispered in her ear.

"I love to stay and watch you transform into stone, but there's a little girl out there whom I like to kill," she said and hid the dagger in her dress.

"If you...touch...her...I will..." Pitch struggled to speak the words.

"You what? You'll probably be dead by the time I kill her," Mora said and her form dissolved into shadows and she went away along with her night terrors.

The last thing Pitch heard of Mora was her grim laughter.

"Grace...I'm sorry..." he whispered. He then tried to crawl toward the fireplace where there were embers still burning, but Pitch was so cold that he did not feel the warmth.

He stopped and curled into a ball, trying to keep warm and he began to pray that someone would come.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

North's reindeer struggled against the icy wind and Jack tried his best to conquer this storm, but it was too strong.

"I have a feeling that we're getting close," Jack said to the others. Baby Tooth squeaked and she and the other hummingbird assistants cuddled beside their mistress.

"It will be okay ladies, stay strong," Tooth said to them as she held them tight.

Meanwhile, Grace found herself walking over a frozen lake. She was so terrified that perhaps Mora could sense her fear.

"Pitch, where are you?" the young woman said and continued her walk.

Back in Mora's cave, Pitch was still lying on the ground. He was so cold that his heart struggled to beat.

Then, he heard a noise and looked. Something or someone was coming from the ground beneath and then, a hole appeared.

"Someone…please…" Pitch said in a whisper, "Help me…"

At that moment, Bunnymund jumped out of the hole, followed by Sandy. "Blimey, it's freezing!" the Easter Bunny complained, rubbing his shoulders.

Sandy was the first to spot Pitch and he jumped up and down in front of Bunnymund. "What? What?" he asked and he noticed the boogeyman.

"Pitch, are you okay?!" Bunnymund exclaimed and he and Sandy came to Pitch's side.

"He's cold as ice. C'mon mate, wake up!" the big bunny demanded.

Sandy spotted the fireplace and he turned to face Bunnymund and some sand formed above his head. The sand featured some fire.

"Great idea Sandy," the Easter Bunny replied and Sandy got to work in throwing some logs onto the dying embers.

Bunnymund helped Pitch to his feet and they slowly walked toward the fire that was now coming alive, again.

"Pitch, what happened?" Bunnymund asked.

"It was a trick," Pitch replied and showed the stab wound. He then explained what the poison will do to him.

"Where's Grace?" Bunnymund asked, again.

"I don't know, she might be out in the storm," Pitch answered, holding his hands up to the fire. "I never got the chance to say I love her," he added.

"I knew you would say that," Bunnymund said and Pitch looks at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You mean you didn't notice?" the Easter Bunny asked and Pitch shook his head. "Well, since both you and Grace are in grave danger, I might as well tell you," Bunnymund added.

"Grace told me this passed Easter that she's been in love with you ever since the day she met you," he explained and Pitch was stunned.

"Grace is in love with me?" he asked and Bunnymund nods.

"Gee, love must be blind," the bunny said.

Then, Pitch started to get to his feet. "Whoa there mate, where are you going?" Bunnymund asked.

"I'm going to find Grace," the boogeyman replied, struggling to get his footing.

"But it's bloody cold outside, you'll die," the bunny informed.

"I don't care, I need to save her," Pitch replied and he and the other two headed up to the entrance of the cave.

"One more thing," Bunnymund said and Pitch looks at him, "I forgive you, mate."

Pitch gives a weak smile and continued to walk and they made it to the entrance.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

North, Jack, and Tooth found themselves flying over a frozen lake and Jack noticed a shape.

"North, head down, I saw something!" he demanded and the reindeer headed downward and landed on the icy ground.

Pitch, Bunnymund, and Sandy struggled to fight against the powerful wind, but suddenly, Sandy was blown away.

"Hang on, mate!" Bunnymund shouted and went after Sandy. Pitch wanted to help, but the bunny calls out to him, "Go find your sheila!"

Pitch looked at his hands; he saw that the veins were turning black and he could not feel his fingers as they were now hard as rocks.

He pressed on, but the snow and wind blinded his sight, there was no way he would find Grace in time.

As for the girl, she stopped walking when she noticed a figure ahead. "Pitch?" she called out, but the form took the shape of a wolf.

Grace turned to run, but saw more of the night terrors and they surrounded her. Then, she spotted the familiar form of Mora.

"You can't run from your fear and you can't run from the truth," the goddess said to the girl.

"What are you talking about?" Grace asked, her heart was pounding with fear.

"Pitch is dead!" Mora shouted over the wind.

Grace felt like she was hit by a brick wall, but she refused to believe Mora. "You're lying!" she cried out.

"Have I ever lied to you? Pitch is dead because he tried to rescue you from this storm. He died because of you!" Mora shouted back.

Grace's heart shattered and she collapsed to the ground and began to sob. The one spirit she had loved with all her heart was gone.

Jack, having enough of the storm, slammed his staff down on the ice as hard as he could, and then, the wind died and the snow stopped falling.

Now that Pitch was no longer blind, he spotted Jack, North, and Tooth. "Look!" the tooth fairy pointed out. The three of them, including Tooth's assistants headed toward Pitch.

Bunnymund was able to help Sandy down, but he then saw Grace and Mora. Behind them was Pitch, he had his back to them, as if he didn't notice.

Mora then pulled out her dagger and Bunnymund shouts, "Pitch!"

Pitch heard the cry and turned around, spotting the two women. "Grace?" he said, but then saw the glint of Mora's dagger.

With the last of his strength, Pitch ran up to them, and Jack cries out, "Pitch, no!"

The boogeyman got his body in between the two women and raised his hand, preparing to take Mora's blow. "NO!" he cried out and at that moment, his whole body turned to stone.

Mora's dagger made contact with Pitch's hard body and the impact made her go airborne and she landed a few feet away.

A breath escaped from Pitch's mouth and his heart stopped beating.

Grace looked up, noticing the stone statue of her beloved. "Pitch!" she cried and got in front of him. She stared into his stone cold eyes and she touched his cheeks, they were cold to the touch.

"Please, please, come back," Grace said, tears following down her cheeks. She wailed with rasping sobs and embraced the stone statue of Pitch; she knew that he was gone forever.

The other guardians gathered around them, horrified and upset that the boogeyman was dead and they lowered their heads.

"I'm sorry," Grace said, "Please, don't leave me. I love you," she added.

The Man in the Moon had witnessed the entire incident and the moon began to shine on the statue of Pitch.

The boogeyman's heart began to beat, again, and starting where the wound was, the stone began to dissolve, revealing Pitch's true color.

Baby Tooth squeaked at her mistress and Tooth noticed the change. "Look," she said and everyone watched the transformation.

Finally, the boogeyman no longer was a stone statue, he was real, again. He took a deep breath and Grace noticed him moving.

"Pitch?" she asked and he nods. Her arms circled his neck and Pitch held her tight, his fingers were buried in her burning red hair.

"You sacrificed yourself to save me, but why?" Grace asked.

"I should've told you this a long time ago," Pitch replied and adds, "I love you, Grace."

They embraced, again, and everyone smiled, but the hummingbirds formed a heart and so did the sand above Sandy's head.

Suddenly, a voice rang out, "Fools!"

Mora was on the big black bird and her whole army of night terrors became one entity.

"I am going to show you that terror does rule over all!" Mora shouted.

The guardians, including Pitch prepared themselves to fight, but the evil goddess laughed.

"You think you can defeat me? Who will save you when I am done with you?" she asked them.

Then, Grace stood in front of Pitch, "I will," she answered, but Mora laughed.

"You? You can't overcome your own fear," the goddess replied and she sent the black sand entity toward the girl.

Grace's face changed to that of bravery and determination. "I am not afraid of you!" she shouted and held up one hand. Pitch stood beside her and held out his hand.

The other guardians braced for impact, but they were ready.

Suddenly, as soon as the black sand touched the two lovers' fingers, it began to change. It transformed into golden sand and the good dreams emerged from the stream.

"What?!" Mora shouted in confusion. One by one, the night terrors were transformed or attacked by the nightmares that Pitch summoned.

Mora noticed Grace and Pitch, but they were unaware of the goddess and she cries out, "I'll kill you myself!" The bird charged at the two and they held each other.

Suddenly, a black figure appeared in front of the evil goddess and her bird. It screamed, flapped its wings, and reared its front legs.

"Erebos!" Pitch exclaimed and everyone watched as the Pegasus kicked and bit Mora.

"OW! You annoying beast!" the goddess cried out and was about to strike the steed with her dagger. Suddenly, something grabbed Mora by the hands and she was pulled to the ground by a gold chain.

Mora was now face to face with Sandy and he gestured his fingers, as if to say, "Shame on you."

Then, Pitch and Grace came up. The girl grabbed Mora by her shoulder and punched the goddess hard. "How dare you touch me!" Mora complained, but then, Pitch slapped her. With that, Mora fell to the ground and started to snore, a small nightmare played above her head.

"Erebos! Come here you devil!" Pitch exclaimed and hugged the Pegasus' neck. Grace hugged him, too, and Erebos whinnied.

Just then, someone threw snowballs at Grace and Pitch. Jack whistled as if he did it.

"You want to have fun? Well, here it comes!" Grace shouted, throwing a snowball at Jack, and everyone got in the game.

A few seconds passed and Mora got up and she rubbed her head. She then noticed the guardians and Grace playing.

"You dare play in my presence? I AM THE-" Just then, Grace ran through Mora as if she was a ghost. Mora realized what that meant; Grace did not believe in her.

"No, no, no! I will not be ignored! I am the queen of night terrors!" Mora shouted, but Grace didn't seem to hear her, only the guardians did.

Pitch and the others stare at Mora with angry eyes and they closed in around her. The goddess tried to leave, but she was surrounded by the guardians.

"Leaving so soon?" North asked.

"We have a gift for you," Tooth said and then punched Mora in the mouth, a tooth flew out.

"You can't defeat me, there will always be terror, even when children sleep," Mora pointed out.

"If one child believes in terror, then we will fight back, no matter what," Pitch replied.

Mora then noticed some night terrors and she chuckles, "Try telling that to them," she said and pointed.

The guardians were confused, they, not even Pitch felt a sense of fear inside their hearts.

"They can't be my night terrors," Bunnymund said and Pitch shakes his head, but then turns to face Mora.

"I think it's your fear that they smell," the boogeyman grinned and Mora's face fell. At that moment, the night terrors charged at the goddess and she was engulfed by black sand.

They pulled her into her cave and they took her deep into the earth. The cave's entrance closed up with dirt and debris.

The guardians congratulated one another, but Pitch noticed Grace walking up to him. "Grace, I have-" Suddenly, she slapped him. Pitch rubbed his sore cheek.

"That was for leaving me!" she said and then, she grabbed at the scuff of Pitch's black coat. "This is for coming back," Grace added and at that moment, she kissed him.

Pitch deepened the kiss and they held onto the kiss for a long time.

"Good onya, mate!" Bunnymund cheered with North and Sandy clapping.

Tooth and her assistants stared at the two with dreamy looks. Jack just looked at them, a hint of jealousy grew inside, but he didn't let it consume him.

Grace and Pitch departed lips and just then, a yeti came up to the group, it had used a portal and it started shrieking in some language.

North spoke to the yeti and then he turns to face the others. "We have been summoned. The Man in the Moon wants us in court immediately," North said to them.

Pitch knew what that meant, he was going to face the punishment for loving Grace. He looks at Grace, perhaps it would be the last time he did.

"I will accept the consequences that are to come," he said to her, "But just to let you know, even if I will be snuffed out of existence, I will always love you."

"And the same here and I will always believe in you," Grace replied and they shared one last embrace.

North ordered the yeti to take Grace back to the North Pole. Pitch got on Erebos, his eyes still locked on Grace, and the Pegasus went up into the sky. The others followed him and they flew up towards the moon.

* * *

From the author: Ha! Didn't I say to believe that Erebos would come back? (laughs) Anyway, don't worry, this is not yet the ending.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The guardians' court was full of the immortal spectators. North, Jack, Tooth, Sandy, and Bunnymund watched as Pitch walked up to the master's throne.

The Man in the Moon appeared and he stared at the boogeyman. "You do realize why I have summoned you here," the god said and Pitch nods his head.

"I have done something that you have made it against the law," Pitch replied, his eyes were staring down at the floor.

"Explain this law," the Man in the Moon demanded.

Pitch took a deep breath and says, "A guardian must not form a romantic relationship with a mortal. He/She will become distracted from his/her duty and might not complete his goal in the time established for him/her. A guardian must be loyal to the Man in the Moon and be loyal to the duties he/she is assigned to."

The god nodded and asks, "And what is the punishment if one disobeys this law?"

"If one disobeys this certain law and admits his/her feelings to the mortal, he/she will have to face the mercy of the Man in the Moon," Pitch answered.

His master looks at Pitch and at the other guardians, who have been listening.

"I have brought you here because you have broken this law and it is time for me to pass judgment on you," the god said in a mighty voice.

"My lord, wait," Bunnymund said and hopped up to the front of the court.

"I wish to speak," he replied and his master grants him permission.

"During the fight with Mora, Pitch had sacrificed his own life to save Grace. Mora had poisoned him and he would've been doomed in being cast in stone for eternity. From what I saw, he got in front of Mora before she delivered a killer blow to Grace. It was at that moment, his body turned to stone, but he saved Grace from getting killed by that maniac goddess," Bunnymund said to the entire court and everyone had been listening.

"Now, just this pass Easter, Grace told me to keep this a secret, unless Pitch's life or her life were in any mortal danger. She told me that she had been in love with Pitch ever since the day they met. Now, I would find it very cruel for you my lord to sniff Pitch's life out of existence. There are many children who believe in the boogeyman, but there is a large number of them who believe he is good. They also believe that he protects them from the bad dreams and I must include that he also protects them from the night terrors," the Easter Bunny continued.

"There are many children who show disrespect towards others. Sometimes, Pitch's nightmares terrify them, but Mora's night terrors push them to the point where they become too afraid to go back to sleep. The night terrors have been taken care of, but if you my lord take away the king of nightmares, how will the children understand the wrong they have committed?" Bunnymund asked and the room erupted into whispers.

The Man in the Moon did not hush them, instead, he had been thinking. Pitch looked at Bunnymund and says, "Thank you, you made it sound more convincing."

Then, the guardians' master stood up and everyone went quiet. "It seems that Bunnymund's words have gone deep inside my head," he said and he looks at Pitch, "I was planning to have you banished to the deepest recesses of the Earth, but now."

The Man in the Moon stopped and everyone held their breath. Pitch prepared himself for the new sentence that his master would pass down.

"I have decided to have you Pitch, become a permanent guardian to Grace," the god said to the boogeyman.

Pitch looked up at his master in surprise and everyone gasped.

"My lord, what do you mean?" Pitch asked, making sure that his master was not joking.

"You are to watch over Grace until the day of her death. You are also allowed to make contact with her every day and every night, whatever you wish, but don't get any funny ideas," the Man in the Moon explained to Pitch.

The boogeyman almost fell to the ground; he had been spared the ultimate punishment. He had been given permission to see Grace whenever he wanted to.

"Pitch," the Man in the Moon said and Pitch looked at him. "This is the one relationship you are allowed to have. After Grace dies, you will be forbidden to make contact with any other mortal," the god informed.

"Yes my lord, I understand," Pitch said and bowed his head.

"Continue with your duties and I hope you and Grace will have endless years of happiness. Dismissed," the Man in the Moon said to the court.

The other guardians and holiday figures congratulated Pitch on his new duty.

"I think it's time for you to take Grace home," Jack said to Pitch.

Pitch got on Erebos and the other guardians got into North's sleigh and they headed back to Earth.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Pitch, Erebos, and the guardians arrived back at North's workshop, where Grace was waiting beside the giant fireplace.

She could not stop thinking about what had happened earlier and the possibility that she was to never see Pitch, again. In fact, she didn't know Pitch's fate yet and she prayed that he was spared somehow.

The guardians entered the workshop, exciting the yetis and the elves, but North ordered them to be silent.

Pitch quietly went up to where Grace was, but instead of walking up to her, he created a small nightmare and it ran up to the girl.

Grace noticed the black sand creature and tried to catch it. She stopped when she saw Pitch take the nightmare in his hand.

"Pitch?" she gasped and he walks up to her. Grace touched his cheeks with her hands, but she looked confused. "I thought you were dead," she said.

"My master had decided to spare me and instead, he gave me a new duty," Pitch replied and Grace was curious to know. "Now, I am your permanent guardian," he added.

Grace was at a loss for words and that moment, she kissed him. The others watched and Tooth's assistants sighed. "Ladies," their mistress said and they straightened themselves.

When they departed lips, Pitch led Grace to Erebos, and they got on the Pegasus. Grace waved goodbye to the other guardians and Erebos went up into the sky, heading back to London.

The weather had changed dramatically; it was cold and snowing, but when they got to England, it was warm and the sun was about to rise.

They got back to Grace's apartment just before the sun's rays shined up the sky.

"It's a good thing that it's Saturday," Grace said as they entered in. Pitch followed her in while Erebos waited outside.

Grace went up to her bedroom and was about to get into her bed, when Pitch's arms enclosed around her belly.

"I'll never leave you, again," he proclaimed.

"But what about your other duties?" Grace asked.

Pitch pretended to not hear that and kissed her. It was deep and passionate and Grace refused to let this one finish. Moans escaped as they breathed and Pitch moved his lips down to Grace's neck.

She kissed his forehead as he trailed his fingers through her red hair.

They shared one last deep kiss before Grace laid her head down on the pillow. Pitch brushed away a strain of her hair and then kisses her cheek.

"I love you, Grace," he whispered and she formed a smile.

"I love you, too, Pitch," she replied and fell asleep.

Pitch left her apartment with Erebos and they rode off in search of more bad children to haunt them with nightmares.

* * *

From the author: Don't feel down, because this is not the ending.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Spring had faded away and summer brought hot and humid weather for the inhabitants of London. Grace and her classmates had finished up their finals and some of them were eager to spend their summer vacation in the tropics or somewhere else.

Before Grace went on her way back to her apartment, the headmaster Mr. James Dundee summoned her into his office.

"Miss Dawson," Mr. Dundee said to her, "Do you know why I asked you to come here?"

Grace shook her head, although she was sure that the news is not good.

"Well, our comrades from the School of Visual Arts in New York came across your pieces when they visited here," Mr. Dundee said. "I told them so much about you and they became interested in you," he added.

Grace looked at him in surprise; she was looking at the possibility of being transferred overseas, although she did not like it.

"Mr. Dundee," she replied, "I am flattered by this, but I must decline the offer of being transferred to this school in America," she added.

Mr. Dundee chuckled, "No, no, no, that's not the reason. The school is actually interested in displaying your pieces in their charcoal gallery."

Grace did not like the sound of that; she created the pieces and she did not want them to leave the United Kingdom for some reason.

"Mr. Dundee, I'm afraid that I must say no to this. However, I will make an exception," Grace said, "I want to transfer the pieces myself, they are not to be out of my sight during the plane ride."

"I think I can pull some strings," Mr. Dundee replied and wrote something down.

"Unless I die an untimely death, then my pieces will not go to New York, not ever. They are to be handed to my parents," Grace said and Mr. Dundee nods.

"I am sure you won't die an untimely death. The school, however, won't be able to display your pieces until next year in the autumn. I tried to get an early time slot, but you know, that school takes pride in displaying everyone's pieces that go there," the headmaster replied.

Grace left and went on her way to her apartment. She could not believe that this art school in New York was interested in her pieces.

She looked around for Pitch, but no site of him yet. She stared out the window and watched the sun set behind some buildings.

She then heard a flapping noise, that had to be Erebos and Grace spotted him and Pitch fly above her. They landed in the courtyard and Grace let Pitch in.

"Pitch, I have some news," she said.

"Oh, tell me," he replied, sounding really eager.

"The School of Visual Arts in New York wants to display my pieces in their charcoal gallery next autumn," Grace explained.

"That's wonderful, congratulations," Pitch said and kissed her.

"But I am not sure that I should go through with it. What if the school does not like my pieces?" she asked and Pitch had to chuckle.

"Remember what I said to you years ago? Don't let the fear eat at you, otherwise you won't be able to see the ultimate reward in the end," he replied and Grace nodded.

Deep down in Pitch's heart, he wanted to stay by Grace's side every minute, but he couldn't because he was a guardian. He needed to carry out his duties, but he wished that his master would choose someone to take Pitch's place as the boogeyman.

He really wanted to ask Grace the one question, but he was forbidden to do so as he was immortal. It was likely that his master would not show mercy if Pitch if he did carry this out.

"Pitch, are you okay?" Grace asked. Pitch had zoned out and he shook his head, putting his mind back where it belonged.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking," he replied and decided to leave. "I'm happy for you Grace, now you'll see the other end of the world," he added.

Grace watched as Pitch and Erebos went up into the sky. She had her eyes glued to them until they were out of sight.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Summer came and went for the British people and a new school year had begun for Grace and her classmates at the University of Art in London.

Autumn arrived as quickly as a flash. The air was now damp and chilly, the trees changed from lively green to blood reds and blazing yellows and the inhabitants abandoned their summer wear.

Halloween was coming and Grace was eager to celebrate this holiday. Her nineteenth birthday was approaching and she was also excited for it.

She had told her parents about the New York School of Visual Arts and of their desire to show her pieces the following year.

They were excited about it. "Unless I die an untimely death, my pieces will not go to New York, not ever," Grace said to them over the phone.

"Nonsense, you will not die an untimely death," her father replied.

As for Pitch, he held in his desire of asking Grace to marry him. If they did marry, they had to do it in secret, but of course, there was the issue with his master.

If the Man in the Moon did find out about their union, he would snuff Pitch's life out.

Pitch did not care for that, although at times he wished he was mortal, again.

Halloween had arrived and Grace was invited to a party at the university that evening.

She wore a new medieval dress that was the color of plums and she wore the tear-drop tiara that she kept all these years.

"Milady," Pitch's voice said and she turned to see him stepping out of the shadows.

"You always look ravishing in that," he added and held out his hand. "I wish to share the first dance of the evening," he said.

"By all means," Grace replied and she took his hand.

They danced around the living room in a rather fun matter. Grace laughed as they twirled in circles, making them dizzy.

Then, the clock chimed the hour of 8. "Oh no, I'm already late," Grace said.

"Would you like an escort to the party, Lady Grace?" Pitch asked and she nodded as she knew what that meant.

Both of them got on Erebos and he flew up into the sky. They passed over children in costume and holding their candy buckets.

"I always love flying. Of course, it will be different when I ride on a plane to New York. I was told that it usually takes 8 hours to get there," Grace said to Pitch.

"I love flying, too, especially with Erebos," he replied and the Pegasus whinnied.

Erebos landed a block from the building where the Halloween party was being held.

"I hope you have a good time," Pitch said as he held Grace down. "Would you like for us to come when you are finished?"

"No, I'll hitch a ride with one of my classmates or just walk home, it's really not that far," Grace replied and waved goodbye to them and headed up to the party.

Pitch and Erebos went into the shadows. "I can't help it Erebos," the boogeyman said to the Pegasus.

"Can't help what?" a voice asked and Pitch almost jumped. He looked up to see Jack Frost floating down in front of the two,

"I hate to say this, but it's none of your business," Pitch said to the winter spirit.

"Oh, that's not a nice thing to say," Jack replied and then, a snowflake hit Pitch's nose.

"I love Grace. I want to spend the rest of my…her life with her," Pitch spoke the truth.

"In other words, you wish to marry her?" Jack asked and Pitch nods.

"I don't know, the big boss might not allow that. Although, he did say that he allowed you to have this one relationship, but he also said not to get any funny ideas," Jack informed.

"I don't care what the punishment is. If there is one minute of a union between me and Grace, that will be enough for me," Pitch said.

Jack began to think, just as a couple walked passed him. Both the man and the woman were drunk and they were wobbling around like fools.

Then, something slipped off the woman's finger and the woman didn't seem to notice. The object shined in the moon light, it was a diamond ring.

"Now that was just pure luck I believe," Jack said and picked up the ring and handed it to Pitch.

"Jack, this is perfect," Pitch replied and he created a chain from black sand. He slipped the ring on the chain and wore it around his neck, but he hid it under his shirt.

"Are you sure you want to go through with it?" Jack asked.

"I am positive," Pitch said and got on Erebos and they flew up into the sky. Pitch and Erebos went on with their duty in bringing good scares on Halloween.

Meanwhile, Grace enjoyed her time at the party as there was a dance and some games. Unfortunately, alcoholic drinks were being served and most of the students were getting tipsy.

"I hate alcohol," Grace said to a classmate.

"Me too, but only when I had too much," the woman replied.

A few hours passed and it was getting close to midnight. The party wind down and most of the drunken students began to leave.

Grace decided to not risk in hitching a ride with a drunk driver and she went on foot towards home.

She was tired, but kept her eyes open for any tipsy people.

She finally made it to the street where her apartment was, but she was on the other side of it. Grace looked both ways before she set foot on the cobblestone road. She failed to notice the fast-moving car that was heading in her direction.

The driver was one of the students from the party and he was very drunk. His vision was blurry and he could not keep his head up.

Grace saw the car and decided to run, but her dress was caught by a cobblestone. She pulled hard on the fabric, but it would not tare. The car was getting closer and Grace began to panic.

Finally, after much pulling and tugging, the dress tore free. Unfortunately, too much time had passed for Grace and that moment, the driver saw her. He slammed on the brakes, but it was not enough.

The last thing that was heard was the screeching of tires and the screams coming from Grace's mouth.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Pitch did not hear the shocking cry of his beloved, but Erebos did. The Pegasus wailed with monstrous screams when they landed on a roof.

"Erebos, what is the matter?" Pitch asked, tugging on the reins.

The Pegasus pushed and nudged at his master and nipped at the chain that held the ring.

"You mean this?" Pitch asked, again. "It's all right, I'm nervous, too," he added, but Erebos shook his head.

Pitch was confused; the only time he saw Erebos acted like this was when the night terrors attacked them, but that was years ago.

"I wish I can understand you," the boogeyman said to the Pegasus.

Just then, a cold wind blew in and Jack Frost landed on the roof. "Pitch, thank God I found you!" he exclaimed.

"Jack, what is going on?" Pitch asked.

"Follow me! There's no time!" Jack shouted and tugged on Pitch's arm.

"Jack, tell me, what is wrong?" Pitch demanded.

"It's Grace, she's been hit by a car!" Jack bellowed.

Pitch's eyes grew wide with shock, a breath escaped from his mouth, and his blood ran cold in his veins.

Pitch got on Erebos and they followed Jack to the street where Grace's apartment was.

On the street, police cruisers and ambulances blocked the way, and a crowd gathered around the police tape.

Pitch looked beyond the tape, hoping to find Grace. The crime scene featured a car that had damage to the front and a man in a costume had been pulled to his feet by the Bobbies*, who handcuffed him. There was a white tarp a few feet away from the car and it covered something.

Pitch went down, but he feared in what he was going to see. A wind blew and the tarp moved away to reveal the dead woman's face, Grace's face.

Pitch fell to his knees; his hands shook as his fingers touched Grace's cold cheeks. Blood streamed out of her mouth and her eyes were half-way closed, but they were glued to the moon. Then, a wail of anguish escaped from the boogeyman's mouth and tears fell from his eyes, but no one seemed to hear him. Some paramedics brought a gurney and a body bag. "No, no, no," Pitch said, but he watched as Grace's body was moved onto the gurney and placed into the body bag.

Pitch turned his attention to the handcuffed man and he walked up to him. "You!" he shouted and he tried to hit the man, but his arms went right through the man. Pitch did not care; he wanted to kill this man.

Then, Jack came and pulled Pitch away from the man. The two went into an alley, where Pitch fell to his knees, again, and wailed another anguished cry.

Jack watched as Pitch cried and mourned. The winter spirit started to shed tears, they froze when they fell down his cheeks.

Erebos walked up to his master and Pitch threw his arms around the Pegasus' neck.

"Take me where they're taking Grace," Pitch said to Erebos and he got on.

The Pegasus flew up into the sky with Jack in pursuit. They flew above the skyline of London and the people were retiring for the night, unaware of what just happened.

Erebos landed on the roof of a morgue and Pitch spotted the paramedics who took Grace's body. The coroner and his assistants took the gurney and brought it inside.

Pitch watched through the skyline window as the coroner brought out Grace from the body bag. He turned his face away when they started the procedure.

Some time passed and Grace's body was finished and the coroner and his assistants left the room, but they placed a tag on her toe and a tarp over her face.

Pitch went into the room, removed the tarp and cuddled Grace in his arms. She was very cold, but Pitch ignored it and more tears fell from his eyes.

The one mortal girl he cared so much and had come to love was now gone. He never got the chance to ask the one question.

Time passed and Pitch had to leave Grace. He placed the tarp over her face, but took one last look at her, and left.

"Take me to Blackpool," he said to Erebos and got on. Jack did not follow them this time and instead, he started to mourn the loss of Grace.

During the ride to Grace's hometown, the sun began to rise and its rays shone on the coast of England.

Pitch and Erebos made it to the Dawson house, just as a police car came up the driveway. Pitch watched as two Bobbies went up to the door and knocked.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Dawson answered; they were still wearing their night clothes. "Mr. and Mrs. Dawson?" one of the Bobbies asked and they nodded.

"We regret to inform you this, but your daughter has been killed," the bobby informed.

Both Grace's parents fell to the ground and began to cry. Pitch listened, their anguish was like his.

He went into the woods where Grace first saw him as a young girl. He touched the chain that held the ring and he tore it off his neck.

He stared at it for one last time before he threw it deep in the woods. Tears flowed down from his eyes as he mourned the loss of Grace.

"I will always love you Grace," Pitch said to himself and he, along with Grace's parents continued to mourn.

* * *

From the author: Please don't hate me! There will be a surprise in the next chapter.

*Bobbies is a nickname for the police officers in the United Kingdom.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Days had passed and they were slow and painful for Grace's family and friends, including Lizzy. Grace's body was brought to Blackpool where she was to be buried in a private cemetery.

As for the drunk driver who killed Grace, he was charged and found guilty for driving under the influence and involuntarily manslaughter. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and was fined £5,000 and he was forced to pay another £2,000 for Grace's funeral and burial.

At the church where the funeral was being held, Pitch watched from the rafters as Grace's casket was displayed. She wore a sun yellow dress and her red hair covered the pillow, she looked as if she was a sun goddess.

Tears were shed as the priest carried out the ritual. Then the casket closed and the casket carriers took it outside. It was a rainy day and the sky seemed to be mourning as it was gray with gloom.

Grace's casket was lowered down into a hole that had been dug. Pitch watched as the cemetery caretakers filled up the hole with dirt and a grave plate was placed over.

When everyone was gone, Pitch went up to Grace's grave and looked at the plate.

It read: **GRACE ANNE DAWSON**

** BELOVED DAUGHTER**

** NOVEMBER 10****th**** 1995-OCTOBER 31****st**** 2014**

Pitch traced his fingers over the words and he did it over and over. He refused to leave the grave, even when it got dark.

A cold wind blew in and Pitch knew that Jack Frost had to be around somewhere.

"Pitch?" the winter spirit asked and the boogeyman got up and faced Jack. "How are you feeling?" Jack asked, again.

"Terrible," Pitch answered.

"Pitch, I know how difficult this has been for you, but I think you'll be very surprised," Jack said.

"Why is that? This better not be a joke," Pitch replied, very bitterly.

"Just come with me to the guardians' court, then you will see," the winter spirit said and a strong wind picked Jack up and he headed for the moon.

Pitch looked down at Grace's grave one more time and kissed the plate. He then got on Erebos and they headed up towards the moon.

Erebos landed beside the guardians' court building on the moon and Pitch went inside where the other guardians and holiday figures were waiting for their master to appear.

"What is going on?" Pitch asked Bunnymund.

"I have no idea mate," the Easter Bunny replied and everyone hushed as the Man in the Moon appeared.

"Pitch Black, please step forward," he ordered and Pitch obeyed. "I have been watching you for the passed few days. I am deeply sorry for your loss," the god added and Pitch nodded.

"However, you will not mourn any longer, for I have chosen a new guardian," the Man in the Moon said and everyone exchanged whispers. Pitch, on the other hand was confused when he heard this.

The god motioned his hands at the door and they opened. A bright light illuminated the room for a brief moment and it faded to reveal a beautiful woman with red-gold hair, hazel green eyes, and peach colored skin. She wore a glittering crown and a white dress that had golden star bursts on it.

"Grace!" Pitch exclaimed when he saw her. They ran up to each other, but Pitch stopped and stared at her. He placed his hands around her cheeks, they were very warm and tears flooded his eyes.

They shared a tight embrace and the court erupted into cheers. Pitch looked at Grace, again and asks, "How...I mean, what kind of guardian are you?"

"I am the painter of the night sky," she said and revealed a golden paintbrush. "I now paint the stars into the blackness and they will shine the way for anyone who is lost in the dark."

"But you never painted before," Pitch replied.

"I know, but it would not hurt to try," Grace said. They embraced, again and then shared a kiss. The court erupted into cheers, again and so did their master, but he stopped and stood up.

Pitch and Grace look at their master as he says, "I know what you have been thinking Pitch and it would not be fair for you to suffer the pain of losing the girl you have grown to love. However, I must ask you, are you still willing to ask her the one question?"

Grace looked at Pitch with a surprised look and he took both her hands into his. "Grace, ever since we met, I knew that you would spread word to other children to believe in me. But you also told them to believe in the goodness in me. That is something I can't thank you enough with words. I have grown to love you after those years, but I believe it is not enough for me," Pitch said to her.

Grace placed a finger over his lips. "If you are asking me to marry you, then my answer is yes," she replied. They kissed, again and the Man in the Moon used his magic to transform the courtroom into a lavish chapel.

The other guardians watched as their master performed the ceremony for Pitch and Grace. When he finished, the two kissed one more time and they headed out to collect Erebos.

The Pegasus got excited when he saw Grace and she petted him. "I almost forgot," the Man in the Moon said and he pointed to the ground. A swirling mist appeared and when it disappeared, a white Pegasus with gold star bursts in its mane and tail was shown.

Grace stared at the creature and it tickled her with its lips. "This here is Asteria, she is your escort when you do your duty, Grace," the Man in the Moon said.

Erebos seemed interested in this new Pegasus and Pitch petted him. "You'll get your chance," he chuckled.

Both the guardians got on their Pegasuses and they flew down to Earth. The sun was setting in England and Grace began to paint the sky with bright stars.

"I have a feeling that the children will believe in you in no time," Pitch said to her.

Grace smiled and continued to paint the sky and Pitch began to release his nightmares. He and Grace led them in the right direction of where they needed to go.

True to Pitch's word, the children of the world began to believe in Grace's existence as the Painter of the Night Sky. They never felt alone in the dark and they learned from the nightmares they had to show respect to one another. It was all thanks to the boogeyman and his love, the Painter of the Night Sky, for those who truly believed.

**THE END**

* * *

I did it! Wow, what a story! What did you think? Please review!


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